Having never seen Bell X1 before but having delved for days on end into the treasure trove that is their back catalogue in preparation for the quintet's headline show at the Olympia Theatre, I thought I had a sense of what the Dublin indie rockers might sound like live. And yet, try as I might to imagine Paul Noonan’s voice sounding as good in performance as it did on wax, I just couldn’t quite get over my scepticism; maybe high production values could be attributed to his inconceivably tender, coaxing vocals.
More fool me, then, because as soon as Bell X1 launch into ‘Fail Again, Fail Better’ and the warm injection of sound courses through my auditory system, all scepticism disappears. Three songs later, and with appropriate pride of place given to songs from their incredible new album Arms, the warm feeling settles in the heart.
From the opening salvo of Arms, the band begin to venture out into older territory, incorporating songs from 2005’s Flock and a lively rendition of ‘Defectors’ from 2009’s Blue Lights on the Runway (the vibrant lights show chimes with the chorus’ lyrics ‘I love the colour of it all’, proving that the lads and the team behind them have a canny attention to detail).
The mid-set lull which threatens every live performance is never allowed to enter into the equation here. The band have too much to offer and are too busy enjoying themselves – dancing on stage, chatting to crowd, chatting and joking with each other – to allow any static energy to settle in.
Mixing the personal with the political and shining them both through Bell X1’s unique lyrical prism, ‘Sons and Daughters’ – a song about asking future generations for forgiveness for the mistakes of the present – stands out as one of the highlights of the night.
A full-bodied set ends with a nod to David Bowie in the encore as ‘Ashes to Ashes’ rings out around the room. This is followed, of course, by one last charming vocal exhibition in the form of ‘The End Is Nigh’. The date being Donald Trump's Inauguration Day in the United States, there's a chilling appropriateness to the song, and the lines "Come here to me for the last time/Will it be a fireball from the sky?/Or will we all take to the bed/Laid low by a new pox?/Will the wrong guy get the codes?", takes on frightful new meaning.
A few (and only a few) murmurs circulate around the room as the band head off stage without playing ‘Eve, The Apple of My Eye’. The band’s most famous song is rarely played in live sets these days and no one can blame them for leaving it off the setlist. With so many great songs to their name, it’s absolutely necessary that they dedicate their live shows to displaying the breadth of music they have to offer.