Darwin Deez at Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Shepherd’s Bush Empire saw New York City’s indie-pop quartet Darwin Deez perform to a sound crowd of avid fans in celebration of new album Songs for Imaginative People. The band first gained significant British attention with 2010 hit Radar Detector – a cute song of love accompanied by a kitsch music video. Darwin Deez instantly became the fun, desirable character with the strange and curly hair. But then he disappeared.

Suddenly three years have passed and, with the exception of the new album, it was nice to see that nothing had really changed. He was still as endearingly dorky as ever, still rocking the hairdo and spoiling the audience with a multitude of crazy dance moves.

Perhaps it was this sudden return to the music scene that left the Empire looking rather empty. Songs for Imaginative People no doubt has the same warm charm as the band’s previous self-titled album, but nobody seems to know it. On the bright side, there was more room for true Deez fans to dance.

It really was previous hits DNA, Up in the Clouds and the notorious party-starter Radar Detector that lit the place up, the crowd screaming the lyrics with a group of Deez impersonators near the stage, adorned in glow sticks and dressed in curly wigs. Even those based at the far end of the room couldn’t help but dance just a little.

Deez’s new material, such as You Can’t Be My Girl and Alice, didn’t really get the same reaction, coming across as a little flat in comparison with the band’s hits of 2010. Having said that, they are still relatively new and, with time, they’ll surely reach the same status as Deez’s other hits. Rounding up the show with his most famous dance, a dramatic guitar solo during Redshift and a great performance of Radar Detector, he left the stage with a cheeky smile – and it was sad to see him disappear again.

Verdict:  ★★★★★

Harriet Gibson

Photos: Sarah Tsang

For further information about Darwin Deez and future events, visit here. 

Watch the video for You Can’t Be My Girl here