On a brisk October night I descended to a classic London haunt to enjoy some of Basingstoke’s finest tropical vibes. Wrapping up what appeared to be a hectic headline tour, Habitats headlined The Lexington on their final night. With supports from Little Cub and Native People, Habitats seemed ready to bring the house down and finish the tour how they started it.

Little Cub and Native People were distinctly below par with every song blending into the same nauseating indie pop cycle; lifeless guitar jangles and offbeat drums. Needless to say it was a breath of fresh air when the Hampshire 4-some came out and were welcomed by a packed out room, the highlight fan being Joe the guitarist’s slightly inebriated dancing machine mother in the front row.

Describing themselves as “tropical groove” Habitats have this inbuilt talent to be able to get literally anyone that sees them on their feet and dancing. Opening up with some old favourites including massive pop single ‘Diamond Days’, the lads got the crowd going with their breezy West Coast rhythms and funky bass lines. New track ‘Boogie Waltzer’ seemed to be a fan favourite and resulted in a variety of “uncle at the family barbecue” related dance moves, much to my delight. I even popped a little shimmy myself.

The night ended with drink fuelled decadence and a rather polite stage invasion/karaoke. Habitats made sure everyone was in their dancing shoes and ended their tour on a high.

Aaron Powell