London electro-pop group TENDER wrapped up their North American tour with a packed show at the Troubadour on Monday night.
The duo perform as a four-piece and were touring in support of their excellent record from January called Fear of Falling Asleep. They came to my attention via Spotify Discover Weekly, which has been a place I’ve discovered a lot of great bands I was previously unfamiliar with.
The band jumped right into their set with “Closer Still”, the song that first made me aware of TENDER. It’s an upbeat dancey MGMT-sounding tune with a fantastic bass line. Lead vocalist James Cullen has an almost smoky-like quality to his vocals that makes the band stand out.
For how little I knew about the band going in, I was surprised how dedicated of a crowd they had. Largely made up of young twentysomething women, the crowd seemed to know the words to almost every song they played off the new album. “Can’t Show My Face” and “Bottled Up” were two of the newer favorites.
“Outside” and “Nadir” remained some of the favorites from before their recent album. “Nadir” and many of the other songs have explosive choruses that are catchy as hell.
The show came across very smoothly, as I wasn’t sure how their sound would translate live. The crowd reaction bodes well for their future success in America as they wrapped up a successful tour.
Photos by Tim Aarons
