The Reytons

The rise of the The Reytons has been somewhat meteoric with their popularity spreading almost as emphatically as Covid 19. ‘Reytons fever’ initially hit in the north, but over the last 18 months it has engulfed the rest of the country and the fanatical devotion of their ever growing fan base has seen vinyl prices going through the roof and a complete sell out of their UK tour.

The band’s first London gig was meant to have taken place at the the Grace last March, a venue holding no more than 150 people. The rescheduled date was upgraded to the 500 capacity Powerhaus, but sold out in no time, leaving the organisers frantically scrambling to immediately organise another London gig at Camden’s Underworld for their first ever London showing.

Despite it being a Monday it was every bit as rowdy and sweaty as what you’d expect at Sheffield’s Leadmill. They waste no time launching straight into their pumping, upbeat indie sound as they kick off with ‘Red Smoke’, quickly followed by ‘On the Back Burner’ and ‘Headache’. The crowd go particularly wild for ‘Lowlife’ as lead vocalist Jonny Yerrell attempts to catch his breath.

Given their relatively short existence (the band only formed in 2017), The Reytons’ writing has been quite prolific and they play a set that includes a good cross section of their tunes. Unfortunately that doesn’t include my own person favourite, ‘Jealous Type’ but there’s always next time and the band leave on a high with ‘Kids Off The Estate’ which is quickly becoming their anthem.

There’s no doubt there are major similarities in their sound to the Artic Monkeys and Milburn, but that certainly hasn’t hindered them in any way and with their first album scheduled for a November release, I can only see them going from strength to strength.