London Grammar at All Together Now 2025: A surprise duet and a rapturous ending from Saturday's headliners
Main stage, Saturday
★★★★☆
London Grammar
's dreamy electropop has the quality of a lullaby performed at a rave, a combination of gently blissful melodies and blitzing beats that proves the perfect mix on night two of
All Together Now
.
A lot has changed for the band since their last Irish festival performance, three years ago. Most notably,
Hannah Reid
, the band's singer, and her Irish partner have had a son, an experience that informed London Grammar's 2024 LP, The Greatest Love.
That album was a not wholly successful attempt to push into new territory: the songs were slower and leaned more on Reid's powerful voice. There was lots to admire, but it lacked the rush of feeling that characterised formative hits such as the harrowing Wasting My Young Years.
Tasteful and sometimes tedious, the record was not the stuff of thrilling festival sets, and in their Saturday headline slot London Grammar wisely focus on their older songs, beginning with the woozy double whammy of Hey Now and Californian Soil.
READ MORE
Reid, who has experienced stage fright, isn't a natural attention seeker. But she has a slowly fizzing charisma on the urgent How Does It Feel, a meditation from 2021 on the dark side of the music business.
A charge sometimes directed at London Grammar is that their music is mannered to a fault. But no such accusation could be made against this gripping set.
As well as their cover of Nightcall, by the noirish French producer Kavinsky – a hypnotic banger made to be listened to cruising down a motorway at 3am, and perhaps best known for soundtracking the opening credits to Nicolas Winding Refn's film Drive – the night features a surprise and moving duet between Reid and the Co Kildare singer Gemma Cox.
It ends with the rapturous fade out of Lose Your Head, a chunk of sublime electronica that the band work into a techno belter. It's lapped up by an enthusiastic main-stage crowd. As the second night of All Together Now draws to a close, it's clear that London Grammar are speaking the audience's language.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Braveheart faithful join cast and Hollywood star Gibson to mark 30th anniversary of production
As part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of the film Braveheart, a large crowd descended on Trim to meet cast members, including Mel Gibson. In Trim Court Hotel, across from Trim Castle, fans and extras from the film queued for up to 90 minutes to get film posters and other memorabilia signed by the cast. The celebrations were part of the King John Summer Prom being held in the town over the weekend. Paul Wilson with his poster. Photograph: Stephen Farrell Some people travelled from abroad to be there , including Paul Wilson (42) from Irvine, Scotland. He explained that, as well as getting a Braveheart poster signed by the cast, he also had a photograph he took of the valley in Glencoe, Scotland, where Gibson stood during the film, signed by the star. 'That meant an awful lot to me,' said Wilson. READ MORE He has always had an interest in the history of Scotland and feels the film has had a profound effect on the people there. 'Thanks to Braveheart, it gave Scots a sense of pride and patriotism, it inspired more people to think about independence. That is still there,' he said. William Wallace, who is the subject of the film and is played by Gibson, was a national hero in Scotland in the late 13th and early 14th centuries and helped inspire resistance against England's King Edward I. Locations in Ireland used for the film include Trim Castle, Bective Abbey, which is to the east of Trim, and the Curragh in Co Kildare. During filming, members of the FCA (Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil), the previous name for the reserve force of the Irish Army, were used as battle scene extras, including Gary Downes (47) and Vinnie McConnell (47), who were also in Trim today. Gary Downes and Vinnie McConnell with their signed photographs. Photograph: Stephen Farrell Downes, who is from Dublin but lives in Alicante, Spain, said that during filming, he and McConnell received a photograph of Gibson in full battle dress and blue face paint which the actor signed today. 'When Mel heard we had the photos, we met him at 10 o'clock this morning. He's a gentleman, he took time out to meet us. When he saw the photos, he said, 'oh my god, the Panavision camera!',' said Downes. Panavision cameras were used to shoot various scenes in the film. McConnell, who is from Firhouse, Dublin, and who was a member of the FCA in Cathal Brugha Barracks, said that he and Downes were 16 years old at the time of the film. 'We put peat moss on any exposed skin to reflect the dirty look,' he added. Downes recalled some of his memories of being on set. 'It was one of the hottest summers, we would be up at 4am, Mel was a very good horseman, the craic in the barracks at night time was great.' Another extra present for the signing this morning, and who was also an FCA member, was Eamonn Moloney (49). 'I got my Leaving Cert results on the Curragh. I was a member of the 22nd Infantry Ennis, F platoon. There were three of us on the shoot [and] we called ourselves F platoon. We were the last to get our costumes, we got the same coloured tartan as Mel,' he said. He recalled that despite being extras, they were up close and personal with the stars. Stunt performances were a standout memory for Moloney, who recalled being 'surrounded by sheets of fire in Ballymore Eustace'. He was also at the signing to extend his thanks to Gibson and the cast, as his experience gave him a great sense of confidence. 'I'm still proud 30 years later to have been part of it,' he added. John Mitchell: 'I can visit all the monuments and cairns to William Wallace that stand to this day.' Photograph: Stephen Farrell Another Scot who travelled over for the celebration was John Mitchell (50), from East Renfrewshire, in Scotland. 'I can visit all the monuments and cairns to William Wallace that stand to this day,' he said. It is reputed that Wallace was born near Paisley, which is about 10km west of Glasgow, in about the year 1270.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Power Blue downs True Love in Phoenix Stakes shock at the Curragh
True Love suffered a shock defeat as Power Blue turned around previous form to win the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh. The Adrian Murray-trained Power Blue was beaten five and three-quarter lengths by Aidan O'Brien's True Love in the Railway Stakes last time out and as a result she was sent off a 1-4 favourite in the absence of stablemate Gstaad, who was a non runner. Power Blue was one of two runners for Amo Racing along with Do Bronxs and the pair were prominent from the off, with Ryan Moore sitting on their heels aboard True Love. Do Bronxs dropped away quickly when the race began in earnest and it looked as though True Love was coming to win with a furlong to run but 10-1 shot Power Blue was incredibly game for jockey David Egan, digging deep to repel her challenge by a length and a half. READ MORE It was a further length and three-quarters back to Green Sense in third. Power Blue's win completed a 70-1 Group race double for trainer Murray and Amo Racing after Bucanero Fuerte secured a game front-running success in the Group Three FBD Hotels And Resorts Phoenix Sprint Stakes. The four-year-old won the Group One Phoenix Stakes at this fixture in 2023 and after a mixed run of luck last year, he was retired to stand at stud. However, Bucanero Fuerte's stallion career was unsuccessful and he returned to the care of Murray, winning at Naas in May before a setback derailed subsequent plans at Royal Ascot. Back in top form for this contest, Egan took the initiative early on and while Art Power tried to match him, Bucanero Fuerte (11-2) looked to have his measure with a furlong to run. My Mate Alfie and Kind Of Blue both made their bids for glory in the final of six furlongs, but Bucanero Fuerte was just too strong, going on to win by a length and quarter. Owner Kia Joorabchian said: 'A lot of credit to Adrian [Murray] and Robson [Aguiar] for the training performance there and David gave him an unbelievable ride – just the way he likes to be ridden. 'He's a tough horse who has given us a lot of joy and a lot of tough days as well with health scares. He had a colic issue at Ascot [this year]. 'I'm glad to see him back happy on the track. We're definitely not taking him out of Ireland now for a while! 'He could be aimed at the Flying Five as he loves the Curragh.' Looking forward to the second half of the season, Joorabchian added: 'We have much deeper pedigrees and I'm expecting a better second half and we'll be in a very good place to lead into next year.'
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Irish Times
Women in Dark Times by Jacqueline Rose: One of the most thought-provoking writers working today
Women in Dark Times Author : Jacqueline Rose ISBN-13 : 9781804271711 Publisher : Fitzcarraldo Editions Guideline Price : £14.99 Jacqueline Rose's book, Women in Dark Times, claims to be about women who 'negotiate the perils of their lives' to say 'something urgent about feminism today'. Even without Trump's presidency (the preface is dated 'November 2024″), one seemingly doesn't have to look far for regressive or ultra-conservative policies being exacted on women's rights (or lack of). The book, originally published in 2014, comes with a new preface, in which Rose writes, '[s]urely, all dark times are dark for women? Today, woefully, I have to acknowledge the truth of that statement.' She might be forgiven for her pessimism. However, acknowledging truths, and difficult ones at that, we already know is in this psychoanalytically inspired writer's wheelhouse. From Rosa Luxembourg, to Marilyn Monroe, to a number of women killed by their fathers in modern day 'honour killings', to the artists Charlotte Salomon, Esther Shalev-Gerz, Yael Bartana and Thérèse Oulton, Rose's eclectic selection of women show us how to acknowledge other difficult truths about the patriarchy. Rose fills her book with evidence of both the public and private thoughts of the women she writes about. We're enlivened by Marilyn Monroe's deeply analytical mind, and troubled by the painter Charlotte Salomon's tragic, internal psychological conflict (both her mother and grandmother took their own lives before Salomon killed her own grandfather. She was then murdered, five months pregnant, in Auschwitz). READ MORE Either in their life or work, they all seem to be women who were on the borders of death or sanity. For Rose, proximity to these boundaries often compel, what she calls, 'the subterranean aspects of history and the human mind'. It's a slightly unwieldy book due to the varied roles and lives her subjects had. Rose's central thesis also might seem a little obscure to those not schooled in psychoanalysis or feminist theory. I wouldn't let this put you off, though, because Rose is one of the most interesting and thought-provoking writers working today. Women in Dark Times represents a more accessible way into the work of someone writing about challenging topics in a way that challenges you to think differently. Either way, it will make you want to read more about the women she writes about (and Rose I hope), which surely is the point anyway?
