And so it is. Humanzi arrived back to Dublin on the back of a triumphant tour with The Bravery, and a level of anticipation befitting their signing to a major label.
Expectations were high in the Music Centre. Perhaps too high, and if the band didn’t quite deliver, it was perhaps through no fault of their own
This wasn’t a bad gig. The first two rows will attest to that. But, throughout, there was just something missing.
Live, Humanzi rock unlike any other band the capital has recently seen, yet their blend of Joy Division and Interpol doesn’t quite lift them above the current crop of British acts doing exactly the same thing. The killer tune just seems to be beyond them.
It took them a while to get going as well. The early part of the set sounded a tad sloppy and ill-delivered, though this could maybe be attested to nerves. Vocalist Shaun Mulrooney, though, didn’t take long to find his voice. Powered without verging on screaming, Mulrooney was driving the band. There was a cool edge to his performance; his charisma as a front-man shone through.
It was in the latter part of the set that the band caught up with him. Forthcoming single ‘Keep Your Shit Together’ certainly found them at an inspired moment and it was at this point that Humanzi really began to find their flow.
At their best, there’s a build to their sound that shimmers and pulsates. Certainly there’s something here, and perhaps theirs is a canon which needs time to settle before it can truly be appreciated.
Not the mind blowing experience we’d maybe been too optimistic to expect, but don’t give up on Humanzi just yet.