Review: Darwin Deez, Thekla – ‘The overriding charm of the DIY ditties has not been dulled in the slightest’

It’s 2010. Jesus bracelets dangle idly from your teenage wrists and the warm summer sun beats down on the back of your topman v-neck. From a tinny iPhone 4 speaker plays an MP3 download of Darwin Deez’s new song, Radar Detector. Life is good. And for a brief time this Thursday night on Bristol’s favourite boat – life was good once again.

But does Darwin Deez embrace the nostalgia? I suppose you have no choice if you’re going to do an anniversary tour. A far cry from Thom Yorke bemoaning Creep, or Liam Gallagher gagging at the thought of singing Wonderwall, Darwin he embraces his place in the annals of hipster history with open arms.

The 10 Yearz Tour – as the detectives amongst you may have deduced – was supposed to be in celebration of Darwin Deez’ eponymous debut album’s tenth birthday. The mathematicians amongst you however will notice these dates don’t quite add up. The 10 Yearz tour, ironically, comes twelve years after the album’s release thanks to all-too-familiar COVID-related headaches.

Walking out on stage, accompanied by his bandmates, the quartet breaks spontaneously into a dance appearing to come straight from the blooper reel of Napoleon Dynamite. After a minute of loosely choreographed jiving, Darwin reaches for his guitar and strums the first jangly riffs of Constellation. The crowd, a strange blend of aged-hipsters and fresh-faced newcomers, jostle rather awkwardly. The more vivacious sections meet the energy of the song’s upbeat tempo, while portions of the crowd seemingly refuse to be moved by the music whatsoever.

For the album’s maiden tour the band played a gruelling two hundred shows in eighteen months promoting it. During one interval, Darwin shares that this is either his fifth or sixth time playing in Bristol. There’s a tinge of apathy in his voice as he recounts this, which at times seems to creep into the performance. He admits to not firing on all cylinders through endearing inter-song small talk, stating he’s “forgotten how to talk words”, before quipping “at least I’ve got these songs to fall back on”. And yet, for whatever creaks or cracks have appeared over the intervening decade, the overriding charm of the DIY ditties has not been dulled in the slightest.

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Despite early resistance, the crowd – like a cumbersome steam train pulling away from the station – were now chugging along at a decent clip. The latter part of the performance saw the group roll out some of their best loved songs, from Bad Day to Radar Detector, met by the audience with lung-busting karaoke and questionable dance moves of their own. In a world that feels ever more cynical, to look back on a simpler time through rose-tinted Rayban Wayfarers is a welcome relief. Now where did I leave my espadrilles.

Main photo: Sam Roberts

Read more: Review: Lewis Watson, Thekla – ‘Watson’s glee at being back on the boat was infectious’

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