Superfood at Oslo

If you Google “Superfood”, the chances are you’ll get a photo of broccoli or string beans, or some form of greenery. But let it be known that one of your five-a-day did not take to the Oslo stage in Hackney last night, where the Birmingham raised four piece were cool (as cucumbers) and collected as they played their headline set for the NME Awards-sponsored event.

Oslo, the venue itself, is every Instagrammer’s dream. It’s all exposed brickwork and low lighting, with an artfully messy-but-not table arrangement. Upstairs, there’s that pungent air of last night’s spilt beer and sweat that any quality venue should have. 

Their opening song is upbeat – the kind of feel-good that makes you want to bob from foot to foot. It’s punchy too and, although the crowd aren’t going crazy (yet), the lead vocalist – he’s also on rhythm guitar – is going wild on stage. Bubbles, their second track, is the literal definition of Britpop. As if The Strokes and Blur had a lovechild and Blur kept them in the amicable divorce, this song is the perfect 50/50 split of dissonance and consonance, with sultry harmonies and lengthy licks on lead guitar, not to mention the constant thrum of palm-muted guitar that is regrettably fading from the music scene today. 

A fan favourite, Melting, is third, and is infinitesimally slower than its predecessors. This track is lilting, repetitive, and for almost the entire tirade, dragging, bringing with it a certain sense of déjà vu, like you’ve definitely heard the song on the radio before, or had it played to you by a friend. Their mood lifts with their next song, Satellite, which is “fresh off the album we recorded a few weeks back”, according to frontman Dom Ganderton, is big, belonging on an open festival stage, not a dank, dark stage in East London. Followed in quick succession by Parking Lot, and then Good to See You, the crowd in the front are ballistic, arms splaying violently into the air.

Their final two numbers, TV and self-titled Superfood, are the best of the evening, hinting at the unique sound the band have yet to pin down and claim as their own. They’re indulgent and sultry, and perform as if they’re not performing, and instead in a room backstage, or just with close friends – a perfect end to the night.

Hannah Ross

For further information and future events visit Superfood’s website here.

Watch the video for Melting here: