NATIONS EP RELEASE @ CAMDEN // REVIEW

Friday the thirteenth, unlucky for some but not for me as I got to attend the launch of Nations' EP having sat waiting for it with open arms for what feels like forever. I was introduced to Nations on twitter by a mate and fell in love with them instantly. Lead singer Oli Ellis has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard, being simultaneously powerful and able to melt your heart. And that's how I came to find myself at the Nations EP release gig in Camden.

They played at The Black Heart in Camden, a super hidden away venue. Scary at first but still a really unique little venue with its own character. Shows like this at venues like this are swiftly becoming more and more my favourite kind of show to attend. The music seems more real, there's nowhere for a band to hide, and in my opinion it's at this stage where real talent can be seen. The risk with gigs like this is that, opposite to what you might think, it can seem really empty at times and there isn't always a lot of energy been driven back towards the stage. Apparently not an issue for Nations. By the time they hit the stage the small room was full of people who all seemed to be equally as up for a good and sweaty time as the band.

Having already seen them play an acoustic set I knew that they could perform live as a band, however an acoustic set up is obviously a lot different to a full force instruments one. The thing I love about Nations is the fact that their music is so full of sounds and layers. You can never get bored of it, each time you listen there's a new guitar part of little bit of vocals you haven't heard or payed attention to before. This isn't lost in their live performance either. The balance was spot on between all the parts, with each member shining through when it was needed. The energy being radiated from the stage was visible in the form of what the audience were throwing back, with people singing and clapping along as the lads utilised every inch of the stage (being led and encouraged by Sam subbing in on bass). The movement around the stage took nothing from the performance, showing that these are established musicians not put off by their dancing around.

Set list wise Nations played their new EP (obviously with it being their EP launch). Im not going to go into the individual songs, you're going to have to listen for yourselves here: Nations UK
They also covered Sia's Chandelier. It worked really well and had everyone singing along. They should put it on YouTube or something, hint hint.

Find Nations:

Twitter - @NationsUK

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nations/561428510540357?ref=ts&fref=ts

Web - http://nationsuk.com

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/NationsUKTV