Thursday 06/03/08 The Futureheads @ Oxford Academy

Sunderland’s finest The Futureheads (well it’s not exactly the hardest thing in the world to be the finest export from Sunderland is it?) started their set at Oxford’s Academy with early hit ‘Decent Days and Nights’. And Thursday night really was a decent night since the band decided to play most of their early, well loved hits.

It would have been kind of awesome if the sound wasn’t so shit; it felt like you were listening to it through crummy headphones, or worse, from the deep depths of some abandoned well. It’s a pretty poor show when the sound is so crap, all you get is a headache friendly bass line and some murmuring voices circling the room that probably should have been vocals. We would’ve thought some clever sound man had forgotten to yank the treble button up, but nay, we know that you have twenty million nobs on that big black box of yours Mr. Soundman – surely, you can put them to good use?

Move forward ten steps and what would’ve been a disaster, is swiftly turned around. If you’re in 80% of the audience (not in the first six, or so, rows) then you’re pretty screwed, because right near the front the sound is fine. Tough shit you poseurs at the back, you shouldn’t be standing there looking bored should you?

‘A to B’ is brilliant, exhibiting the usual combination of foot stomping thumping drums, nananana gee-tars and the distinctively northern vocals we have come to expect from The Futureheads. The crowd are enthused, jumping around, singing along and stamping their feet. Close your eyes and it’s almost two years ago.

‘Hounds of Love’ is met with the kind of excitement you thought was dead on the indie circuit. Yes, it is an epic song. The "ooo-oooh-oooh; oooh-oooh-oooh; oooh, oooh, oooh; oooh, oooh oooh" is sung back to them by the crowd. When the bridge comes in, they’re all stamping their converse and shaking their layered hair. It’s always great to hear one of your favourite tracks live (this and Jimmy Eat World’s ‘Hear You Me’ in one week? Life’s amazing!).

They play their new single ‘The Beginning of the Twist’, cunningly released on their own label, because they are sick with labels screwing artists over - pretty much their own words, which are met by a standing ovation by the crowd; what we’re already standing? Perhaps having your debut album marketed, manufactured and produced by Warner is enough to put you off big labels forever. Either that or they are such a big entity these days, that they don’t need no record label! They finish with ‘Man Ray’ (this writer’s second favourite Futureheads’ song), stopping half way to let the adoration seep across the stage. They like making us wait, but yes we have been rewarded.

These are boys that know what they are doing. The reason why they’re so successful is because they are so good at indie pop. **** Kate Nash and Jack Penaté, this is indie pop that will get your pulse racing and your face grinning widely. Welcome back fellas, we’ve missed you!