Spanish Love Songs live review from the Electric Ballroom, London, 27th January 2024

Over the last few years Spanish Love Songs have really felt like one of the most beloved bands in pop-punk and emo adjacent circles. 2020’s Brave Faces Everyone dropped right as the world went to hell and it became the soundtrack to so many peoples lockdowns and seemed to really strike a chord with fans. Now nearly 4 years later Spanish Love Songs could finally come and do a proper headline tour and they just happen to have another new album under their belts with the brilliant No Joy. So with a wealth of new material and growing fanbase they were able to pack out Londons Electric Ballroom for a night of guaranteed emotional sing alongs.

First up though, Heart Attack Man were up to deliver a set of far more aggressive and straight forward pop-punk. All the energy and bounce you’d expect but with a slightly more angular leaning. Its a far cry from the emotional catharsis of Spanish Love Songs but they are infectious and don’t feel quite as juvenile as a lot of pop-punk out there. Catchy melodies and strong personality give them something that feels far less generic but there is just something kinda funny in hearing a frontman call for a circle pit and telling people to “get the fuck up” at a Spanish Love Songs gig.

Still there’s clearly enough people familiar with them to oblige and they seem to win more and more fans over as the set progresses. And there’s an outsider weirdo energy to their songs with injects some self aware fun into tracks such as “Like a Kennedy” and “Freak of Nature”. Its a good warm up for the crowd before all the emotions start pouring out.

Speaking of, Spanish Love Songs are just spectacular tonight. Emotional, raw and uplifting all at once. Opening with Lifers off No Joy is an expert move putting that new material front and centre and already getting the entire room singing along showing how again an immediate connection has been formed with No Joy. There are currently without a bassist on tour for seemingly unclear reasons but it has minimal impact on their live show this time. Dylan Slocum seems to have come a long way from the somewhat nervous performances of the past. He really controls the room but loses none of his emotional power that feels so real. As expected the set is quite evenly split between Brave Faces Everyone and No Joy which is an excellent decision as those songs are all incredible.

But for long term fans there is a real treat in the returning Schmaltz songs. The likes of Bellyache and The Boy Considers His Haircut result in huge emotional outbursts from the crowd especially during that closing passages of Haircut. But there is no denying the band have come a long way from these more raw emo cuts and that’s where the No Joy material really shine.

From the almost tropical disco beats of Clean Up Crew or the Springsteen by way of synth-pop in Haunted. They’ve managed to experiment and broaden their musical canvas without losing what fans fell in love with. So even with its more danceable beats, Clean Up Crew still gets a big rousing sing along as all the crowd seem to love shouting “fuck the garden and the yard, I can barely tend to my own dreams”. Its Brave Faces everyone that really seems to hold the place as the fan favourite though going off the reaction to both Losers and Losers 2. Or how Kick seems to level the crowd energy up to its highest at point and it doesn’t dip below that. The band sound incredible with Meredith Van Woert’s contributions feeling more noticable than ever.

And the band save the very best for the end, without resorting to the usual forced encore schtick they close out with a monumental combo of Routine Pain and the title track from Brave Faces Everyone. And this was the moment where if anyone had any emotions left now was the time to let them go as both songs hit such powerful crescendos.

It’s just great to see a band like Spanish Love Songs reach this level and sell out a venue this size. They aren’t playing the sort of music that’s gonna get the biggest push and is entirely built off fans love and support for them. And its good to just see a bands hard work and brilliant songwriting just pay off. And its even better when this doesn’t feel like the ceiling for the band. But for the moment this a victory and and a huge celebration for the band that it felt great to be a part of.

Rating 9/10

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