If you’re going to retire as a band after two and a half decades, you may as well do it in style. When Hundred Reasons announced a Royal Albert Hall spectacular last summer, we had no idea that it would be their last- that news would come eight weeks ago – and the weight of lost chances hangs as heavily as the velvet drapes lining the gilded concert hall. It’s a bittersweet feeling to say the least. Back in 2002, their album ‘Ideas Above Our Station’ defined an era, and to hear some cracking songs in a world famous historic venue should be a highlight of the year. Instead we’re bidding farewell to one of the most underrated bands of the noughties. They’ve scored a huge headline show in a landmark, and it’s their last.
“This is kinda like a celebration, forward slash see you later,” remarks frontman Colin Doran. Perhaps it’s the intimidatingly mostly seated hall, or the first half of the show loaded with deep cuts and later songs that doesn’t click with the crowd immediately, that cast a shadow over proceedings. From the back of the stalls the stage set looks like a dolls house, created to spark imagination, and that’s exactly what their music does. The frontman’s downcast reflection is swept away by the glowing open to ‘Glorious Sunrise’ with guitars and harmonies that rotate like planets in motion. As Doran makes his announcement, someone throws a beer across the hall, a tiny moment of rebellion. The minimalism in Hundred Reasons’ clattering distortion on ‘Slow Learner’ makes for an absorbing polaroid, and when Doran finally lets out a full scream amid the heartbeat-like bass tones of ‘This Mess’, it’s a glorious moment.
So far, so safe. Then, an awkward, unscheduled pause while we murmur in the dark, waiting for a resolution. Hundred Reasons had teased including strings online a couple of months ago, but when the live debut of ‘Done’ emerges from the darkness backed by a full string orchestra, the old electricity they conjured years ago is back. The entire floor of the hall erupts into a full jump as the strings take over the baseline to ‘I’ll Find You’, the fresh polish renewing the track to a full cheer. ‘Silver’, when it finally comes, is a legendary experience. Phones raised, we dance with the fullness that the song deserves, with crowd surfers hurling themselves across the floor, chanting out the melody. A couple hold each other, fists raised, just soaking it in.
This song is the utter poignancy of the whole night in a nutshell: Hundred Reasons are, or rather were, still incredibly good. All the old songs needed was a fresh touch of sonic paint and they hit as hard as ever, creating new memory with the same ease that they did upon release. When Doran finally smiles and offers us a singalong to ‘Falter’, we clutch this song to our hearts. A group of balding friends circle and hug amid the confetti chords. ‘Remmus’ red glow translates into a small but intense pit, and with renewed, howling power they beam out invisibility, and ‘No Way Back’ captures the full stadium feeling that could have been. This contrast, the split between what should have happened at Hundred Reasons’ huge hometown show celebrating their highlights and what we got, lies at the heart of the experience. They should have been taking on arenas, throwing out post-hardcore magic. Instead, we have moments of glory that needle at us even as we party. “Guess we’ll say see you next time, but that’s not really the case now,” sighs Doran before the whole crowd springs to their feet for ‘If I Could’. A circle pit bubbles up, the spontaneous reaction to the vivid favourite played as brightly as we’ve ever heard it.
Hundred Reasons could have made a Best Of compilation, or a strings album, or carried on playing smaller and smaller clubs. We have to respect the way they went out with the biggest bang that they could, even if the sheer quality of the show makes their decision that little bit more painful. On the other hand, they have split twice before and re-formed, each time with a new album and a sheepish apology for a long absence, so it’s entirely possible we might be back at the Royal Albert Hall in 2035 for a reunion show. Until then, this is a beautiful farewell, full of juxtapositions and thrash, to one of the era’s most under-appreciated bands.
KATE ALLVEY
