The venue that started it all - English Teacher headline Leeds Brudenell Social Club.
Having secured a Mercury Prize nomination last week for their debut record “This Could Be Texas”, English Teacher returned to their roots on Wednesday evening to play a free headline show at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds.
Pre-pandemic, the North’s selection of female-led powerhouse bands was in short supply, and we found ourselves asking the same question, “Where are the women?” Enter English Teacher, the Leeds based quartet formed in 2020 amongst the blue masks and social distancing restrictions. Fast forward to 2024, and not only are the indie outfit signed to major record label Island Records, but their exceptionally received debut album “This Could Be Texas” recently scored them a nomination for the prestigious Mercury Prize award. Having broke the news to fans on Instagram with the caption, “How do you even caption that x”, the band later announced a last-minute free-entry headline show in celebration taking place at The Brudenell in Leeds. Collaborating with Fender on the event, front woman Lily Fontaine, guitarist Lewis Whiting, drummer Douglas Frost, and bassist Nicholas Eden returned to worship at their original preaching ground for Wednesday night’s sell-out performance.
A night fuelled by an obligatory Brude pie and a pint in the summer sun is enough to satisfy any person, but when you add English Teacher to the mix - well - I was practically bouncing at the opportunity to see one of this year’s most anticipated acts at an establishment so cherished by the West Yorkshire community. It goes without saying that the band are kind of a big deal in Leeds, with eager fans queuing beyond the venue itself an hour before doors. As the main amphitheatre reached its maximum capacity just after eight o’clock, English Teacher revealed themselves and broke into the instantly recognisable guitar stabs of “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab”. The first single to emerge after their signing to Island Records, this fan favourite woke up the moshers as a pit began to circle the floor. Though I was surprised that the quartet didn’t save this number for the show’s close, it certainly succeeded in setting the course for the rest of the performance.
If there’s one element to English Teacher’s music that makes them stand out amongst other female fronted groups, it’s their ability to seamlessly bring the sounds and energy captured in recording sessions to the stage in front of hundreds. In particular, “Nearly Daffodils” featured Fontaine erupting into a tambourine frenzy as the song’s chaotic breakdown followed. Despite her insecurities, Fontaine’s vocal performance really couldn’t be anymore captivating as her voice soars to notes that even Freddie Mercury would be astounded by. It’s her Yorkshire accent inflections that make her vocals and accompanying words all the more resonant- like open arms and a cuppa at the end of a long day, you feel like Fontaine’s warm tone and deadpan lyrics are always there to comfort you.
I’m certain that I wouldn’t be alone in stating that “You Blister My Paint” completely stole the show, demonstrating the limitlessness of English Teacher’s songwriting ability and their most vulnerable side. On record, the song strikes a chord with anyone experiencing the gut-wrenching pain of heartbreak, but live it becomes something else entirely. Transformed by the random glitchy echoes of guitarist Whiting manipulating Fontaine’s vocals with a Line 6 DL4 MKII delay pedal, this song took the win with its theatricalism accentuated by the lines, “I feel you sitting there / With your third degree / Glaring holes into me”. Towards the end of the song, the white noise drowning the room equaled the band’s collective bewilderment at the events of last week.
With other tracks like “This Could Be Texas” and “Broken Biscuits” grounded by English Teacher’s signature ostinato piano and guitar melodies, the quartet’s expertise in arranging instrumental layers prevailed live despite the depth of sounds the band brought to the venue’s engineer. We were treated to an explosive encore as the outfit introduced their final song of the evening, “Good Grief” from their EP “Polyawkward” released two years before their debut full-length record. It was a bittersweet ending to a stellar performance, as I realised that this may be the last time that English Teacher grace smaller venues like The Brudenell as their rise to fame continues. You can take the band out of Yorkshire but you can’t take Yorkshire out of the band, and after last Wednesday’s performance it seems that English Teacher aren’t willing to detach themselves from their roots just yet.
Could English Teacher fly the flag for Leeds and bring home a Mercury Prize win? We’ve got our fingers crossed for them.