Review and Photography by Jonathan Taylor

Instagram: jonathantaylorphotography

Following the announcement of DMA’S fourth studio album ‘How Many dreams?’ due for release 31^st March 2023, to be accompanied by a 13 date UK tour in April, the Sydney based outfit return to the UK to round off the year for a whistle stop tour, with intimate shows in London, Manchester and Glasgow.

We join DMA’S for their show at the Manchester Academy. The sold-out venue is inevitably packed with a crowd that spans the generations which is testament to the fact that the band has captured the musical imagination of their UK fan base.

The set opens with fan favourite ‘Timeless’ off debut album ‘Hills End’ and the enthusiastic crowd with arms aloft, sing every word back to the stage. Up next is ‘The Glow’, ‘Dawning’ and new track ‘Everybody’s Saying Thursday’s The Weekend’, which sounds perfectly at home amongst the bands back catalogue.

From start to finish the evening is an anthemic masterclass, with the likes of ‘Silver’, the beautifully tender, ‘In The Air’ and ‘Tape Deck Sick’. ‘Life Is A Game of Changing’ off DMA’S third studio album ‘The Glow’ is one of the albums more electronic inspired tracks and given the levels of production on the album version, its translation to the live stage is nothing short of triumphant.

First release of 2022, the dance inspired ‘I Don’t Need To Hide’ gets an outing. Laden with electronics, it is both joyous and celebratory in sound and without question one of the evenings highlights.

The latter part of the evening sees big hitters ‘Delete’, ‘Play It Out’ and fan favourites ‘Step Up The Morphine’, ‘Feels Like 37’ and ‘Lay Down’. The evening is brought to a close with the bands trademark cover version of Cher’s ‘Believe’.

DMA’S have been truly embraced by fans on British soil and are fast becoming one of the driving forces in the tapestry of the UK music scene. Tonight, on a dank evening in Manchester it was perhaps the perfect fit for such a band given their musical influences. The evening captured the absolute joy, spirit and energy of DMA’S, the impact their music has and the admiration of their UK fan base who spent the evening galvanised by the impact of the band’s music.

Set List:

‘Timeless’

‘The Glow’

‘Dawning’

‘Everybody’s Saying Thursday’s The Weekend’

‘Silver’

‘Life Is A Game of Changing’

‘Hello Girlfriend’

‘I Don’t Need To Hide’

‘In The Air’

‘Olympia’

‘Tape Deck Sick’

‘Cobracaine’

‘Delete’

‘Play It Out’

Encore:

‘Step Up The Morphine’

‘Feels Like 37’

‘Lay Down’

‘Believe’