Live Review: HYYTS – Beatrice Lancet
5 stars
HYYTS can only be described as electric. The energy onstage was beyond belief as the duo began the show. The intimate venue rang with people singing and dancing along to their catchy electronic pop tracks. Having interviewed the duo, Sam Hunter and Adam Hunter, (who happen to share the same surname) in the Burn FM studio earlier that day, I was buzzing to hear the full set that they had planned.
They began with the explosive ‘Avalanche’. Adam strutted and danced across the stage, with so much charisma and stage presence, which was refreshing and kept the show engaging and entertaining throughout. Despite having performed and travelled around the country, you would have thought this was their first gig of the tour with all the energy that they brought. A woman in the venue shouted that she and her friend had come all the way from Northampton to see HYYTS, which just showcases the loyal fanbase they are starting to build up. Their whole presence was so strong and awe-inspiring as they launched into ‘Bad Tattoo’, now officially one of my favourite songs.
Adam’s vocals came across as strong and full of vitality and Sam’s production and instrumental setup created the lively atmosphere of the venue. Their bond and enjoyment onstage came across. Something that they had spoken about earlier in the interview was their excitement at having their own tour after the pandemic put a stop to live performances. The essential ‘pop’ nature of their music that they had talked about came across strongly with catchy sing-along tunes throughout the whole set.
Excitingly, they then sang a new track ‘Heavy Stuff’ which will be released in January, making the audience watching whoop loudly, before they launched into their most recent hit ‘Singing Your Name’.
The crowd went wild, singing along as the song reached its peak. The lights flashed dramatically different colours, which perfectly matched the build-up of the song and the energy that HYYTS were bringing on the stage. Talking about this track in the studio they mentioned that they were inspired by the idea of singing about people who had been in their lives and how odd it feels to hear crowds singing these names back.
Adam spoke of the song as the unexpected hit of their album Helluvatime, but I can hear why it resonated with fans. Not only a breakup song, it also has a chorus crying out to sing along to and infectious drum beats.
Hearing ‘Kinda Need You Here Tonight’ was a very interesting experience having heard it acoustic in the studio, but although the acoustic version had a focus on the lyricism and underlying sadness, this live rendering brought out the pop thrill of the song, with its instrumental flourishes and epic drums. The song itself seems to embody the idea of a connection between sad and happy ideas, something that Adam and Sam discussed as a key part in their music, in the interview. Another example of this I can see in their music video of ‘SOS’.
Ending the set (with heavy hints of an encore!), they sang ‘Bullet’, which was perhaps a little sombre to end on, before they left the stage to cries of ‘One more song! One more song!’ and returned with ‘Blue and White’. I think that everyone agreed with the lyrics that we ‘don’t want the night to end’. The song ends on a really beautiful moment of soft high backing vocals, which felt like a fitting conclusion to the show.
At the end, the duo charmingly met their fans, signing t-shirts and tickets and taking photos. As I told them myself, it was certainly one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.
Watch out Birmingham, HYYTS are definitely ones to watch!
HYYTS can only be described as electric. The energy onstage was beyond belief as the duo began the show. The intimate venue rang with people singing and dancing along to their catchy electronic pop tracks. Having interviewed the duo, Sam Hunter and Adam Hunter, (who happen to share the same surname) in the Burn FM studio earlier that day, I was buzzing to hear the full set that they had planned.
They began with the explosive ‘Avalanche’. Adam strutted and danced across the stage, with so much charisma and stage presence, which was refreshing and kept the show engaging and entertaining throughout. Despite having performed and travelled around the country, you would have thought this was their first gig of the tour with all the energy that they brought. A woman in the venue shouted that she and her friend had come all the way from Northampton to see HYYTS, which just showcases the loyal fanbase they are starting to build up. Their whole presence was so strong and awe-inspiring as they launched into ‘Bad Tattoo’, now officially one of my favourite songs.
Adam’s vocals came across as strong and full of vitality and Sam’s production and instrumental setup created the lively atmosphere of the venue. Their bond and enjoyment onstage came across. Something that they had spoken about earlier in the interview was their excitement at having their own tour after the pandemic put a stop to live performances. The essential ‘pop’ nature of their music that they had talked about came across strongly with catchy sing-along tunes throughout the whole set.
Excitingly, they then sang a new track ‘Heavy Stuff’ which will be released in January, making the audience watching whoop loudly, before they launched into their most recent hit ‘Singing Your Name’.
The crowd went wild, singing along as the song reached its peak. The lights flashed dramatically different colours, which perfectly matched the build-up of the song and the energy that HYYTS were bringing on the stage. Talking about this track in the studio they mentioned that they were inspired by the idea of singing about people who had been in their lives and how odd it feels to hear crowds singing these names back.
Adam spoke of the song as the unexpected hit of their album Helluvatime, but I can hear why it resonated with fans. Not only a breakup song, it also has a chorus crying out to sing along to and infectious drum beats.
Hearing ‘Kinda Need You Here Tonight’ was a very interesting experience having heard it acoustic in the studio, but although the acoustic version had a focus on the lyricism and underlying sadness, this live rendering brought out the pop thrill of the song, with its instrumental flourishes and epic drums. The song itself seems to embody the idea of a connection between sad and happy ideas, something that Adam and Sam discussed as a key part in their music, in the interview. Another example of this I can see in their music video of ‘SOS’.
Ending the set (with heavy hints of an encore!), they sang ‘Bullet’, which was perhaps a little sombre to end on, before they left the stage to cries of ‘One more song! One more song!’ and returned with ‘Blue and White’. I think that everyone agreed with the lyrics that we ‘don’t want the night to end’. The song ends on a really beautiful moment of soft high backing vocals, which felt like a fitting conclusion to the show.
At the end, the duo charmingly met their fans, signing t-shirts and tickets and taking photos. As I told them myself, it was certainly one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.
Watch out Birmingham, HYYTS are definitely ones to watch!
