Amidst the grand architecture of the once-church Albert Hall, English Teacher deliver their own philosophy on the intricacies and contradictions of life.
The Mercury Prize-winning band offered a unique performance for the Manchester crowd on November 20th, holding the audience in their palms - gentle yet guided.
English Teacher's music sits in a beautiful mix of tradition and new, with their avant-garde lyrics set to deep, slow piano and acoustic guitar. Albert Hall was the perfect building to house this experimental and playful music, itself too a place where opposites mingle, with red lights shifting about the space, hitting detailed balconies and lighting up stained glass windows. This blending of opposites in the architecture gave a beautiful and poetic backdrop to the music.
Opening the night, The Orielles took to the stage with distant airy vocals set to heavy ringing guitar and cavorting drums.
The band treated the audience to a taste of their upcoming album ‘Only You Left’, welcoming audiences to their new sound. On stage, the band members were really feeling their own sound locking into one another, and Henry Carlyle Wade was headbanging during his solos.
The band themselves showed a real connection and solidity as a group, switching between instruments as easily as they do styles. English Teacher took the audience on a journey, opening with ‘This Could Be Texas’ and ‘R&B’, they set the energy high, then moved into some slower, drawn-out tracks to only bring it back again with ringing guitars and thrashing drums. The setlist was well thought out and took the audience on a journey reminiscent of the ebb and flow within the songs themselves.
Their heart comes out in their music and readily bleeds into their live performance. During their set, English Teacher paid tribute to the Manchester-born Mani with a few words from frontwoman Lily Fontaine and played their version of ‘Waterfall’ by The Stone Roses. Their care was also evident later to their audience when, during their last song, an incident occurred in the crowd. Fonatine spotted it and asked for help while the rest of the band stopped playing. The band handled the situation perfectly and even started the interrupted track, ‘Albert Road’, from the beginning after someone shouted, “From the top!” Fontaine jokingly replied, “What the whole gig?” .
There was a beautiful intimacy fostered by the band's introspective lyrics and natural stage presence. This was felt in the crowd, as despite the venue's sold-out 1,800-capacity, the performance still felt intimate in the space. While the band changed over instruments between songs after the cheering subsided, in the silence, you could hear the two people chatting to your left and the person at the front with a cough.
In a time where concerts are often accompanied by a sea of phone screens, it is welcome to find a band with an audience so tuned into the music with them. Everyone was so zoned in on their performance; there was only the rare sighting of phones out to capture a moment they really wanted to remember.
And there were plenty of moments to remember. English Teacher gave their fair share of high-energy moments amongst the quieter introspection. During ‘Nearly Daffodils’, Fontaine got on top of the amp and started a call and response with the audience and then watched as they all thrashed around during the bridge.
The grace English Teacher gave to the stage is so readily abundant in their music, offering warmth, intimacy and philosophy. English Teacher delivered a performance they should be proud of and a demeanour they should look at in the same light. It is a wonder when bands so easily reflect the beauty of their music in themselves.
Ella Wilson-Coates
Images: Gabbi Goldman