Kodaline at Somerset House

Formally known as 21 Demands before changing their name to Kodaline, the four-piece Irish group headlined a sold-out Friday night slot at a rather rainy summer series at Somerset House.

The boys have been playing together since they were 15, and insist that their strong musical bonds have given them the ability to create honest, melodic and romantic songs. Singer Steve Garrigan, 22, believes that for Kodaline music isn’t just music, it’s therapy: “break-ups make it really easy to write. When we write music, the first thing we think of is it’s therapy for us. Then we think of how we can use that feeling to touch as many people as possible”.

Kodaline opened the night with After the Fall and quickly followed with One Day, a crowd-pleaser that was heartily greeted with an acapella sing-along. Hannah from the Missbirds accompanied the band for their next number Lose Your Mind. 

The quartet have created a buzz for themselves from their anthemic melancholia, expressed in bursts of guitar and piano and leading some to compare them to the powers of Coldplay and Muse. Singles like All I Want, High Hopes and Way Back When create a Somerset vibe that defiantly justifies them billing the Summer Series. Despite their success, there’s no denying that the band still have a tall mountain to climb before they reach the heights of Coldplay and Muse.

Overall, the audience were certainly impressed with the performance (except maybe a few boozy executives towards the back). Kodaline used this opportunity to announce that this would be their last London gig until they release a second album. While a new album is promising news for the fans, there’s an understanding that their future gigs are likely to be less intimate as Kodaline look ready to take over arenas and stadiums. 

Joshua De Souza Crook
Photos: Melissa Harper

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

Watch the video for All I Want here: