HalfNoise – Leeds Headrow House – 14/01/17
Having spent most of his childhood/teenage years touring the world with Paramore, Zac Farro and his brother Josh, walked away from the band to peruse other musical challenges and adventures. Six years later, we find Zac Farro finally back touring across the UK with his new project ‘HalfNoise’, bringing something new to the table.
The release of their debut album ‘Sudden Feeling’ last year brought a creation of upbeat, groovy, and summery tracks out of the depths of a break up, producing a slight twist on what you would expect from it’s inspiration. Tonight in a small room hidden within Headrow House in Leeds, HalfNoise treat us to our first listen to their new album live and it’s an exciting prospect.
With no more than 50 people in the room, it’s quite the intimate and somewhat intimidating show to pull off, especially toe to toe with the crowd on the tiny barrier-less stage. Non the less, as the character that Zac is, he takes it in his stride and backed by his band he unveils the show with great confidence and passion. ‘Know The Feeling’ particularly impresses us with its infectious techno rhythms and chirpiness, as does the slightly slower tambourine happy ‘Leaving’ with its stunning synths.
‘In The Summer’ is appropriately titled and it makes us temporarily forget about the cold wet weather outside, taking us to paradise with its fantastic chorus before ending with Zac where he is most well known, behind the drum kit pounding through a drum solo to close out the track.
Tonight has proven Zac’s ability as a musician in multiple outlets, from vocal duties to drums and guitar, he glides around the stage taking ownership of his music on multiple levels. His band back him fantastically throughout the set, sound tight, and make the show look effortless only to feed the chilled vibe of the show. The crowd also remain rather quiet throughout, but in these types of shows silence is golden as their eyes and ears are set on the stage to enjoy every second.
‘Always’ has a slightly more serious and slower vibe to it, which changes the tempo slightly, however it is the title track ‘Sudden Feeling’ that is perhaps our favourite track on the album with its creative sounds and layers, and it comes across just as beautifully live.
HalfNoise are a real breath of fresh air in today’s music scene and deserve much more credit than they receive. With such a fantastic debut album with individual style and character, HalfNoise can only grow stronger and we will certainly be there to witness it in the future.
Check out more live photos of HalfNoise in our live photos section Here!
