LIVE REVIEW: DELAIRE THE LIAR AT THE LEXINGTON, LONDON 12/04/2025
Copyright: Cory Eyres (Photo)
"We had a bet on how long the jackets would stay on" Ffin Colley laughed as he paused to remove a layer after only the opening song of Delaire The Liar's final show.
Upstairs at The Lexington, to a sold-out room, Ffin Colley, Em Lodge and Chaz Tomlinson, joined by Tom Pratt on guitar, treated fans to ninety minutes of the best of the band's back catalogue, from early days to the recent farewell release.
The Throwaway Scene in support opened up proceedings with a tone setting performance, the polished four-piece fused hectic punk energy with dramatic emo imagery and compelling song structure. Landing somewhere between Funeral For A Friend, My Chemical Romance and Enter Shikari, most perfectly captured on 'Fake Death' where singer Oliver Hame's skilful vocals elevated an entrancing outro.
The Throwaway Scene
"Let's get some more energy from you London," urged Hame as latest release, 'Talking Slowly' got heads nodding. The track an insight into the trajectory of a band with a fresh take on a well-loved sound. Catch them on 1 May at Blondies in Clapton.
As coming on stage music goes - East 17's 'Stay Another Day' may have been genre inappropriate but was certainly on message for a room full of people that you could sense weren't all together happy about this being Delaire The Liar's last outing. As the band launched into 'Bite Trap' however, melancholy was suspended and dancing began.
The first half of the set leant heavily on 2018 EP 'Not Punk Enough' and other formative tracks like 'Our House is a Church' leading into the sweet then suddenly ferocious 'angel number.' Energy reaching a crescendo on 'DOG' where Colley instructed the strong guys to get in the middle of the floor before launching himself into the crowd, the effect less reminiscent of crowd surfing and more like being held aloft like a king.
Taking it back to the beginning ‘‘the first song we ever released" 'Guilt & Recourse' followed, a track that established the mood of a band that stayed true to their sound while evolving into the latest offering of two song EP 'Lamplight & Quiet' A duo of tracks released less than seven days prior, despite this, the room sang along in earnest.
Throughout the set, the theme of thanks occurred over and over. "Thanks to our families, it's not easy having a kid who wants to be a rockstar," with waves and kisses to loved ones in the room. "Thanks for selling this show out," directed to the room at large, and individual thanks to crew who made the whole thing possible.
Getting down into the crowd, the band performed a beautiful, fully stripped back version of 'Locked (For a Reason)'. Simply an un-amplified acoustic guitar and 200 voices singing along. This was truly the moment for tears to start pouring. As the set started drawing to a close Lodge reminded fans that all merch was on offer on a 'pay what you want' basis ("£5 minimum, don't steal from us".) "Or just go through the bins outside my house tomorrow," added Colley.
Closing out the night with the powerful duo of bangers - 'FURNACE' and 'HALLOWEEN', the band embraced to rapturous applause (And NSYNC's ‘Bye Bye Bye’) and called time on an unforgettable outfit of which fans will surely keep a reunion flame of hope alive for decades to come.
Words and photos by Imogen Bird.
Full setlist below:
1. Bite Trap.
2. All your labour.
3. Our House is a Church
4. Medicine
5. Opulence (Has Taken Lives)
6. angel number.
7. One Of Us is the Killer
8. NO ACCIDENT
9. DOG
10. Guilt & Recourse
11. Shovel
12. forebodies.
13. Lamplight & Quiet
14. Locked (For a Reason)
15. FURNACE
16. HALLOWEEN