Ever since singer Olly Alexander took the helm of Years & Years, the group has been faced with bangers to whom its boyish tenor imparts emotion – too bad that voice failed in Werchter.
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Ring ring, who’s there? It is Olly Alexander, the singer of Years & Years, who thanks to the series It’s a sin also known as an actor. He answered with a cheeky ‘hello’ wrecker‘, which was at odds with the grim decor with the dirty phone booth on the stage. Fortunately, the audience of Werchter Boutique is a bit older and no one had to explain to them what a pay phone is. In that cell he also sang a hyphen from ‘Night call’, the title track of the latest Years & Years album, before the cell made way for four equally dirty toilets, where his five dancers booty calls acted or tried to seduce passers-by. For those who still doubted the theme of the performance: that was sex, and cruising.
– Photo: Koen Bauters
Years & Years has seen a somewhat unusual evolution for a pop group: the band started out as an indie group, until Alexander joined and took the lead with his high tenor, also on summer hits like ‘Sunlight’ by Belgian DJ The Magician. For two records, the band wavered between indie rock and pop – that argument was won by Alexander, who van Night call made a record full of bangers about the euphoria of going out again after a pandemic, dancing again and again touche to have. It is straightforward commercial pop, where Alexander’s voice and Mikey Goldsworthy’s sometimes astonishing synths make the difference.
But, alas: Alexander’s voice was very bad in Werchter. He reached the high notes, not the volume. In the mix, his voice was hidden under the drums of Paris Jeffree – great drums, Jeffree was the drummer of The Avalanches for many years. The three backing singers were also sublime: their a cappella version of ‘Here’ did not give the performance a gospel touch for the first time. Alexander had saved his breath to play ‘Eyes shut’ from the first record from behind the piano, and then a cover of Pet Shop Boys’ hit ‘It’s a sin’. There was dancing, there were people who asked ‘who is that guy?’, but it could have been more.
Because this was a performance you had to see, rather than hear. Alexander and his five dancers, donned in the fetish outfits that nowadays include hip-hop divas like Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, clearly had a blast as they twirled their way through songs like “Muscle” or took on compromising poses. Was that camp† Is the Pope Catholic? During the closing track ‘King’ it actually started to rain. Either the Lord was not pleased with so much fornication on stage, or Alexander has (even) more magical powers than we thought. Only they didn’t quite come out in Werchter.
Years & Years, seen at Wechter Boutique on June 19, 2022
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