TROPHY EYES — LEEDS, UK.
Trophy Eyes at the Project House, Leeds, UK (06/03/2024).
with support from Out Of Love and Happydaze!
Images by: Dylan Maggs.
TROPHY EYES
HAPPYDAZE
OUT OF LOVE
If you ask any of my friends which band I love the most, I can guarantee all of them would say the Australian punk rock band Trophy Eyes. They’ve had a grip on me ever since the release of their phenomenal album ‘Chemical Miracle’, and every project since has held a close spot to my heart. My excitement for ‘The American Dream’ was high, but when ‘Suicide and Sunshine’ was released, I’m sure everyone was sick of me talking about it.
I was fortunate to hear the album early and trying not to give spoilers to my friends, who are also really big Trophy Eyes fans, was a really hard job. Tears were definitely shed in parts with the gut-wrenching ‘Sean’ and the closer ‘Epilogue’ which made me incredibly proud of them. I was able to catch them last year at SlamDunk Festival and I left wanting more, so when this tour was announced there was no way I was going to miss it.
We saw Trophy Eyes hit the Project House in Leeds, a unique venue with a somewhat DIY feel to it. Personally, I’m not a fan of the venue, but when the band hits the stage you instantly forget about your surroundings. Opening up the show was UK punk band Out Of Love, and I’ll be honest in saying I hadn’t heard of them before this show, but if there’s one thing to state is that they definitely bring the energy. It was infectious. I’ve been listening to them a lot since the show, and they’re definitely what you’d consider to be under-rated. Tracks such as ‘No Fakes Allowed’ and ‘All Grown Up’ are my personal favourites. Definitely suggest checking out Out Of Love.
Next up was a band I’ve been listening to since their inception, Happydaze. The Pop-Punk band which formed through lockdown have been doing bits since they started, and I’ve been able to catch them on many occasions. They’re definitely going to be the next big thing, and for good reason. I wouldn’t say they’re as energetic as the opener, but the energy was very much prevalent even with some songs taking a more relaxed tone. It’s hard to pick favourites with Happydaze but ‘Missing Out’, ‘Bad Taste’ and ‘Go Wrong’ are standouts for me personally. I always hear people drawing resemblance to frontman Luke Bovil’s previous band Woes, and it’s not necessarily a stretch as they do share some stylistic similarities. I just hope people take that as a good thing, because Woes were definitely set to be the next big thing and I’m happy to see a glimpse of their sound live on.
It was now time for the main event and everyone’s excitement was at an all time high. It’s clear that the band has a grip on the UK scene, and if you don’t know about them then honestly.. What are you waiting for? As the band walk out onto the stage, we lead straight into ‘Blue Eyed Boy’ from the latest album ‘Suicide and Sunshine’. From the get go we see John Floreani flying around the stage throwing his hands around, inciting the energy to be replicated from the audience, and it wasn’t long before people were flying over the barrier.
‘Figure Eight’ and ‘27 Club’ furthered the energy with the crowd reciting the songs word for word, but this was furthered by the fan favourite ‘Heaven Sent’. I was in the photo-pit for the first three, and as soon as I was done I ran straight into the mosh-pit, pushing my way through screams of “So stay away from me, now that you know what kind of man I can be –”. I remained in the pit throughout the entirety of the set, giving every ounce of energy to the band I love so dearly.
Another fan favourite ‘Suicide Pact’ saw fans enticing over fans to crowdsurf, thank god this wasn’t an Against The Current support slot. Instead of complaining, fans got in the thick of it. We then toned down into the slower ‘What Hurts the Most’ before heading back into the screamy ‘Home Is’. I most definitely damaged my voice during this track whilst screaming to every word as its a track that has a deep connection to me.
From here we were met with ‘Choke’, a track that people were praying made its way onto the setlist. It’s from their debut album ‘Mind, Move On’, and despite it being only a minute long, it was enough time for people to fly over the barrier. The overly upbeat ‘OMW’ got the crowd jumping non-stop before switching to the cry-worthy anthem ‘Daydreamer’. “I’ve got friends, they don’t love me like I love them” ringing out throughout the echoey room.
Leading towards the end of the set we got the standouts ‘Chlorine’ and ‘You Can Count On Me’, before closing with one of their earliest tracks, ‘Bandaid’. It was the perfect track to end on, taking us on a journey through their discography. And seeing as they were at one point close to packing it all in, we’re lucky to still have them around.
To end this review, I want to state that Trophy Eyes are without a doubt one of my favourite bands of all time. I found them when I was in a place I never thought I’d get out of, and they became the soundtrack of my life whilst I figured my shit out. Hopefully I get to see the Aussie legends around the UK again soon. And big love to Happydaze and Out Of Love, who were both absolutely killer.
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