Live
Lloyd Cole
The Barbican
25 January 2025 (gig)
26 January 2025
Lloyd Cole took to the Barbican stage on Saturday evening, understated yet quietly commanding. As the lights dimmed, two original members of The Commotions keyboardist Blair Cowan and guitarist Neil Clark strolled out alongside drummer Signy Jakobsdottir.
With a career stretching from 1984 to the present, Cole’s performance was a carefully crafted tapestry of old favorites and recent work. He opened with "Wolves," a brooding track from his 2023 album On Pain. The audience, polite and restrained, seemed mesmerized though Cole couldn't resist a wry quip: "You’re much more behaved than last night's lot," he teased, "they were all hammered."
While the atmosphere remained subdued, there was no mistaking the reverence in the room. Cole’s voice, remarkably intact after nearly four decades, carried the same velvety warmth, enriched with experience.
The first half of the show remained acoustic, with Cole jumping from album to album, year to year. The crowd cheered in anticipation when he announced the next song was from the nostalgic 1995 album ‘Love Story’ before treating everyone to a rendition of ‘Trigger Happy’. Lloyd also performed hits from his debut album ‘Rattlesnakes’ before rolling into the second half of the show. “We’re gonna get electric” he promised before the interval.
Returning to the stage with an electric guitar, the singer jumped into ‘Past Imperfect’ from the 2000 album ‘The Negatives’. The crowd grew more energetic and danced in their seats as the singer continued to play a string of fan favourites.
‘Night Sweats’ from the 2019 album and ‘Guesswork’ definitely interrupted the mellow, ambient flow with its angsty electric beat, as did the following song ‘Speedboat’; passionately performed by Cole and his fellow guitarist.
Cole then announced they were going to play a couple of songs from his “most unsuccessful album” 2006’s ‘Antidepressant’ before performing ‘The Young Idealists’ and ‘Woman in a Bar’; all riddled with nihilism.
Returning to the mid eighties, hit songs ‘Perfect Blue’ and ‘Perfect Skin’ came after. ‘Myrtle and Rose’ followed, with Lloyd claiming the 2013 song was his mother's favourite.
The singer continued his lengthy set with ‘The Idiot’, ‘Brand New Friend’ and ‘Forest Fire’. Thanking the crowd and bidding them farewell as the audience arose from their seats in applause, he returned a few minutes later for an encore of ‘Jennifer She Said’ and ‘Mainstream’.
It was a night that celebrated the enduring artistry of a singer-songwriter who, despite the passing years, remains as vital as ever.
With a career stretching from 1984 to the present, Cole’s performance was a carefully crafted tapestry of old favorites and recent work. He opened with "Wolves," a brooding track from his 2023 album On Pain. The audience, polite and restrained, seemed mesmerized though Cole couldn't resist a wry quip: "You’re much more behaved than last night's lot," he teased, "they were all hammered."
The first half of the show remained acoustic, with Cole jumping from album to album, year to year. The crowd cheered in anticipation when he announced the next song was from the nostalgic 1995 album ‘Love Story’ before treating everyone to a rendition of ‘Trigger Happy’. Lloyd also performed hits from his debut album ‘Rattlesnakes’ before rolling into the second half of the show. “We’re gonna get electric” he promised before the interval.
Returning to the stage with an electric guitar, the singer jumped into ‘Past Imperfect’ from the 2000 album ‘The Negatives’. The crowd grew more energetic and danced in their seats as the singer continued to play a string of fan favourites.
‘Night Sweats’ from the 2019 album and ‘Guesswork’ definitely interrupted the mellow, ambient flow with its angsty electric beat, as did the following song ‘Speedboat’; passionately performed by Cole and his fellow guitarist.
Cole then announced they were going to play a couple of songs from his “most unsuccessful album” 2006’s ‘Antidepressant’ before performing ‘The Young Idealists’ and ‘Woman in a Bar’; all riddled with nihilism.
Returning to the mid eighties, hit songs ‘Perfect Blue’ and ‘Perfect Skin’ came after. ‘Myrtle and Rose’ followed, with Lloyd claiming the 2013 song was his mother's favourite.
The singer continued his lengthy set with ‘The Idiot’, ‘Brand New Friend’ and ‘Forest Fire’. Thanking the crowd and bidding them farewell as the audience arose from their seats in applause, he returned a few minutes later for an encore of ‘Jennifer She Said’ and ‘Mainstream’.
