Clean Bandit review: Pop trio get away with it as fun steals the show

The Cambridge group compensate for lack of edge by bringing the party to Hammersmith Apollo
Keeping it clean: Clean Bandit perform at the Hammersmith Apollo
STEVE GILLETT / LIVEPIX
Rick Pearson20 November 2017

Clean Bandit, best known for their hits Rather Be and Symphony, are a kind of Ocado Disclosure: Cambridge grads who write the songs but are content to let others sing them.

It’s a formula that’s working. The Londoners have scored a string of number one singles, picked up a Grammy award for Rather Be and last night packed out the 5,000-capacity Apollo.

To underline their classical music credentials, Grace Chatto’s cello was mounted on a podium centre stage, while either side brothers Luke and Jack Patterson busied themselves on drums and keyboards respectively. Vocal duties were shared between Kirstin Joy and Yasmin Green, singers with voices so powerful you feared for the Apollo’s foundations.

Often criticised for lacking the necessary edge to make dance music exciting, Clean Bandit compensated by going heavy on the fun. Last night’s opener Stronger came complete with a sing-along chorus, mass handclaps and streamers. Extraordinary was extra- ordinarily catchy and Disconnect was lifted by Chatto’s cello work.

When she wasn’t putting bow to string — which was most of the time — she threw some shapes at the front of the stage, equal parts fun and toe-curling.

Mighty as the vocalists were, there were times when the tracks’ original singers were missed. It’s not often I long for the dancehall vocals of Stylo G, but without them Come Over lacked excitement and mischief.

Equally, Telephone Banking — dire on record — last night grew wings and upcoming single Should Have Known Better was no less catchy for being as complex as a two-piece puzzle.

Rather Be — still the band’s best song by such a distance it laps most of the others — brought this show to a triumphant finish. It wasn’t wholly convincing but, just like their name suggests, Clean Bandit got away with it.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in