Overmono live at Alexandra Palace review: Same dogs, new tricks

Overmono never misses. This year saw the Welsh electronic duo tighten their grip on the dance music space with the release of their long-awaited sophomore album, Pure Devotion, an album that advanced the Overmono sound without abandoning the core tenets that made it so appealing in the first place (and spawned a myriad of imitators, mind you). Now, new tracks are breathing fresh life into their live sets, as demonstrated at a jubilant Ally Pally show yesterday evening. Fan favourite Gem Lingo (ovr now) set the tone: a smooth, well-rounded warm-up track with a pitter-patter heartbeat and synths that swell like strings, anchored by buttery vocals from Ruthven, sliced up and spread around. The room was brought to a simmer by Even Angel’s Ghost, one of Overmono’s many moody collaborations with Kindora, the largely unknown American singer who is in many ways the beating heart of the brothers’ sound; such is the value of her sickly sweet, oft-spliced top lines. Then it happened. There is a moment at every Overmono show where they turn up the gas – the temperature rises, hoodies are wrapped around waists, beers hastily drained to free up hands. Last night, this came as early as track three, courtesy of the pulsating, unmistakable arrival of Gunk, the most enduring track from Overmono’s 2022 Cash Romantic EP and a mainstay on countless DJ USBs. The tell-tale Nintendo-esque opening of Freedom 2 held onto the heat as fans locked into one of the most addictive rap verses of the 2020s. There was no Kwengface appearance this time, but it was all forgotten the moment the first breakbeats of 2021’s So U Kno burst out of the speakers. Jamie Shipston-MournThis particularly strong three-song run bowed out with an interlude before the introduction of newer material: first Ballad, then Mialon, which felt underappreciated by the crowd purely because of its slower pace. A shame, as it’s these slower, sexier tracks that really make an Overmono set sing. R&B vocals out in full force, wistful longing settings cranked up to a hundred. Sip your water, wipe your forehead and let it all wash over you. Truthfully, the night could have used more of these (Walk Thru Water, Cold Blooded and Barum were all missing), even if the audience didn’t seem to want to go there. It can’t all be Lockup and Blow Out kids, you’ve got to eat your dinner before your pudding!Still, you can hardly complain when another triple whammy hits the Palace: Blow Out, If U Ever, and Pure Devotion standout Laxbrook, followed by deeper cuts Bby and Bromley, and punctuated with the joyful victory lap of After The Rain. The crowd caught its breath during the ambient pub chatter of Adre before another burst of energy via If We Ever, Overmono’s take on the High Contrast classic, into Knight in Shining Prada (their very own modern classic, judging by the overwhelming response of the crowd – and the complete lack of bar queue), into The Streets remix Turn the Page (a pleasant return to the setlist), into Lockup and, of course, Good Lies. Midway through indecipherable vocalisations and pure, unadulterated joy, I wondered if the brothers would ever want to end on another song. But this is their masterpiece, and it really, truly, never gets old. Here’s to many more.