Shining Like They Always Did Before – DMA’S Live At O2 Academy

Forget the flowers, chocolates and preset menus for extortionate restaurants, Valentine’s Day was all about a date with DMA’S at a sold out O2 Academy. One of Australia’s finest, but so ingrained in British music through their Britpop influences, sense of style and just how much they love touring the UK, DMA’S have been up and down the country touring their debut album Hills End (2016) for its 10-year anniversary. A fact which makes me feel inherently old on account of my remembering of ‘Delete’ going viral like it was yesterday, a release which came 2 years earlier than the album! This album soundtracked such an integral part of my teenage years so to experience a full live playthrough was truly magical.

Fellow Triple J Records and Australian band Salarymen warmed up the crowd with dreamy pop and indie rock mixes. For this duo it was their debut in Leeds, and they absolutely left their mark. There was something so soothing about both Renee de la Motte and Thomas Eagleton’s vocals as they interchanged main vocal duties. My highlight of the set was their track ‘Surrender’ which brought a change in pace with its heavier post punk energy. The band started many “D! D! DMA’S!” chants which the eager Yorkshire crowd jumped on. Who doesn’t love a chant at a gig? Salarymen got the Valentine’s memo, wishing everyone a happy Valentine’s Day as Motte threw a bouquet of flowers into the audience.

Remember those chants that got mentioned earlier? Once you get a Leeds crowd going there’s no stopping them.The DMA’S chant soundtracked the wait for the trio to come to the stage. All members with their backing live set up appeared suddenly out of the smoke and launched straight into the album’s opening track ‘Timeless.’ The title is exactly as described on the tin, a classic anthem belted out with passion by vocalist Tommy O’Dell, as he, and rhythm guitarist Johnny Took, riled up the fans. Now for the weirdest change in the setlist, ‘Lay Down’, the song famed for ending every DMA’S set, now moved to second in the setlist. Regardless,the simultaneous mosh pits and crowd members clambering on shoulders delivered the chaotic energy. To further highlight the importance of this song, the band played an extended outro so people could enjoy the fan-favourite song for even longer. 

Next up was the pivotal anthem ‘Delete’. Not one dry eye in the house as shoulders were mounted, phone torches lit and the band settled into a calm backdrop to deliver their viral track. This took me right back to the days of finding this on YouTube and being hooked on it ever since. Lead guitarist Matt Mason’s angelic vocals in the outro collided with O’Dell’s smooth “let it all out” to create a huge chorus that the fans hung onto. ‘Too Soon’ has always been my dream to hear live and it didn’t disappoint. The drums crashing together, O’Dell sounding just like he did 10 years ago, commanding riffs from Mason, Took leaning so far into the crowd to sing straight back to them and that beast of a chorus. I felt so complete. 

This track, along with others, made their way back to the stage after a very long time away, with tracks like ‘In The Moment’, ‘So We Know’, and ‘Melbourne’ all making their grand return after previous outings as far back as 2017! This was no bother for the fans as they shouted back every single word and danced like their lives depended on it. This should hopefully inspire the band to take these songs out for a spin more often in the future, especially ‘Too Soon.’ 

DMA’S are very no nonsense in their approach to live sets, not speaking much in between songs, instead allowing the music to do the talking. But after the beautiful ‘So We Know’, with a slower tempo until the final high energy chorus, Johnny Took also followed the Valentine’s theme to wish everyone a happy Valentine’s Day. He recalled their first time in Leeds fondly, where they played The Refectory as part of the 2016 edition of Live at Leeds In The City. Imagine being one of the lucky ones who saw DMA’s on our very own campus.

A particularly touching part of the set was the penultimate album track ‘The Switch’. The band all slowed down for this one but not quite to a full acoustic set up. Just the lowering of pitches and melodies to match the themes of dealing with when life becomes too much. The guitar solo in the bridge seeped straight through as the crowd swayed back and forth, all whilst O’Dell’s and Mason’s vocals merged into one. For the final album track, ‘Play It Out’ the energy was ramped back up the max as the crowd sang the verses in the instrumentals as well as their normal places! They also chanted the guitar riffs; it was a full acapella set up for this one, with vocals roaring against the sonic barrier that consumed the room. Oh, and how could I not mention the signature full body swivel from Took as he played at a rapid pace!

After that storming tune, the time came for the band to take a pause and walk off stage. I’ve never been the biggest fan of encores, they’ve lost their element of surprise, but after that natural conclusion, this felt like an appropriate time for the walk off walk on trick. Drummer Liam Hoskins returned to the stage alone to play an instrumental to rile the crowd back up. DMA’S re-emerged out the smoke to deliver their final 6 songs as part of a mini ‘best of’ encore. Set against red lights, ‘For Now’ brought a snarling energy, with moshpits exploding across the floor that looked like waves crashing together. One final growl from O’Dell on “head” brought the song to an abrupt close.

The fans brought their acapella skills back for ‘Olympia’ as they recited the guitar riffs whilst jumping up and down as one. O’Dell took his opportunity to jump around with the crowd as well; the energy was infectious! ‘Silver’ and ‘Tape Deck Sick’ brought a calmer energy to the chorus as everyone was back on shoulders again, with the band staring back at all the faces, listening to the fans singing every word. 

‘Hello Girlfriend’ has always had a fun twist about it when the band repeatedly plays the outro more times than on the studio track. For this tour, they played it even more to give a super extended edition! Everyone lapped it up, waiting for every single “such a funny thing for me to try explain” from Mason. Now that ‘Lay Down’ is no longer the final song, ‘Feels Like 37’ had big shoes to fill . Ultimately though, the electric power and unforgettable chorus maintained the high calibre performance until the end. We even got O’Dell taking his microphone off the stand to move around the stage and sing which isn’t typical at all but very enjoyable to watch. Mason delivered his riffs with a cool manner as Took was again leaning into the crowd, locking eyes and singing his heart out. 

After blowing lots of kisses and waving at the crowd, it was finally time to end the set. What was experienced that night was nothing short of brilliant. An outstanding performance from start to finish, hearing the whole album live was so beautiful and such a throwback! This is an iconic album amongst the indie-rock fans and it’s a shock it’s already been 10 years since its release, but you could see from the adoring faces in the band that this has been a special ten years, and I couldn’t have felt more privileged to have experienced Hills End (2016) live in all its glory.

Words By Ruby Macklin