Heathers at The Academy | Review

It’s been over a year since Heathers have taken up residency in The Academy with a full band backing them . In that interim period, they’ve been busy promoting their latest outing ‘Kingdom’ internationally, with tours of Canada, Europe, the United States and anywhere in between.

Tvvins took to the stage just ahead of the Macnamara sisters and played a blistering set of tracks introducing a their new single that will be out in January. The energetic combination of Conor Adams of The Cast of Cheers and Lar Kaye of Adebisi Shank takes hold of the Academy.

Though still in their infancy, Tvvins are showing themselves up as one of Ireland’s finest new acts, with a combination of charm and music that packs a punch and gets you dancing at the same time.

Heathers’ following set was short but sweet; disappointingly short admittedly, just about hitting the hour mark. Two albums in, they have a set that works for them, only so many songs take to the stage well and they have a formula it appears, at least for now. Opening with The Third Rail, you can see the crowd swell in anticipation of a set of well known songs, joining in throughout choruses.

The unfortunate downside to the set is that it feels like the girls are just going through the motions right now. A cover of Katy Perry’s Roar is an unexpected surprise following a three track throwback to their debut album, including the ever popular Remember When.

The set is energetic, the girls are on form yet the vocals feel off, almost tired. The stage is glaringly bright with flashes of blinding strobe lights throwing off your vision throughout, making it somewhat difficult to make out the people in front of you, let alone the stage.

Following last years performance, Heathers’ set was less than expected, it was good but hit nowhere near the energy of past shows.