Fun Adults, The Bowery

Tonight, Leeds 4-piece Fun Adults embark on the final performance of their Autumn tour of the UK. The Bowery is heaving (although you wouldn't expect anything else on a Saturday night in Sheffield) as the band prepares to take to the stage, passing various instruments through the crowd from the awkwardly-positioned engineer at the back of the room. The night is yet another fab booking from Semi-Detached, who seem to have been at the helm of Sheffield's alt music scene for quite some time now. Fun Adults have signed to indie label Tough Love (champions of the likes of Viral, HEALTH, and Male Bonding), and released their most recent single 'For Water / Peek and Punch' in May of this year. Since then they've been working on their live shows up and down the country, and tonight we witness the result.

Although the band formed in Leeds, they aren't exactly stalwarts of the city's music scene. In fact, they almost seem to have purposefully distanced themselves from it, working holed up in a converted barn in Scotland for their recent recordings. Their tracks on record are so intricate and precisely arranged that it will be interesting to see how much this comes across on stage, if at all.

As the band shuffle onto the tiny stage, it seems like 'Fun Adults' might be a bit of a misnomer. They're barely adults, and they don't look like they're having much fun either. An eclectic collection of instruments including trumpets, sax and double bass litters the already cramped stage. Fun Adults might be mistaken for a group trying to put to use the various instruments they were forced to learn by their parents at school. However, as soon as they start playing, their tropical sound warms the crowd and makes The Bowery the cosiest place to be on this chilly night.

The dreamy sounds of single ‘Sap Solid’ are reminiscent of Wild Beasts or even Radiohead. The band’s dual vocalists switch between songs, with the first taking a more pop/theatrical approach, and the latter sounding more laid back and honest. It’s an interesting dynamic, with each member switching between instruments in what is clearly a well-rehearsed set. The single’s B-Side, ‘Acacia’ has echoes of Grizzly Bear and has some moments of great harmony, as does ‘For Water’. The lyrics are at times incomprehensible, but this adds to the sense that we are listening to a composition rather than a hastily thrown-together song.

Fun Adults are a band whose complex and delicate sound sounds amazing on record but somehow doesn’t quite project over the hustle and bustle of a Friday night crowd. It would be fantastic to see them play in a venue where their sound could really be appreciated, and these talented young musicians are definitely worth a listen.