English Teacher give a lesson in rock'n'roll supremacy at Electric Brixton, London

A band who ooze talent, confidence, and that special something. Words: Ciaran Picker. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.

It's hard to think of another band who have had quite as good a start to 2024 as English Teacher. Since the release of their debut album, 'This Could Be Texas', they've gained a hatful of five-star reviews, sold out a whole host of in-store and headline gigs, and even spoken in Parliament. All of those moments led them here, to the final night of their tour at a heaving Electric Brixton.

Opening proceedings are London art-rock trio mary in the junkyard, a band worth every inch of the hype surrounding them. This is a set with a little bit of everything. Clari's breathy, transcendent vocal performance shines above the grungy guitar lines and relentless drumming in 'ghost' and 'marble arch'. Bassist/viola player Saya Barbaglia flits between menacing, swirling viola melodies and intricate, throbbing basslines, whilst drummer David Addison changes up the tempo in 'goop' as if there's nothing to it.

By the end of their half-hour set, they've given the crowd an experimental, explosive, and extra-special performance, flying through prog-rock arrangements, college-rock guitar, and punk-rock breakdowns. "This is definitely a very big stage," Clari nervously states. Better get used to it, gang, because it won't be long until you're playing these venues in your own right.

The anticipation in the crowd is evidence of just how revered English Teacher already are, pushing the boundaries of the accepted rules of guitar-rock to their limits, playing around in the space that they've created. So when vocalist Lily Fontaine emerges from behind an effigy of their album artwork's iconography with a Frank Sidebottom-esque papier mache head, it's clear that the crowd are about to witness a seventy-minute set full of heart and humour.

Barring a mic stand that refuses to stay still, English Teacher put on a flawless show that mimics the venue's name: totally electric. Starting with searing smash-hit 'The World's Biggest Paving Slab', it's clear that the cross-Pennine starlets haven't come to mess around before 'I'm Not Crying, You're Crying' threatens to tear the roof off the place only two songs in.

Lily Fontaine's voice soars, supported by a soundscape that is as detailed as on record. Replete with keyboards, synths, and their own personal cellist, the band not only prove themselves as exceptional musicians, but have the crowd in the palm of their hands.

Taking a seat behind said keyboard, Fontaine's vocal cracks with emotion during small-town drama ballad 'Broken Biscuits', whilst the ethereal 'Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space' and delicately ominous 'Albatross' bring with them a suave coolness that you'd expect from a band that's killing it at every turn.

This isn't a straight-up rock show, though nobody expected it to be, with 'Sideboob' and 'Mastermind Specialism' transporting the crowd to a smoke-filled jazz club, highlighting that English Teacher can do anything they put their mind to.

Arguably, the moment of the night is 'You Blister My Paint', a love song "inspired by a really disgusting film", Lily states. The stripped-back piano arrangement sends her vocal into the stratosphere, creating one of those could-hear-a-pin-drop moments that come along once in a blue moon.

'This Could Be Texas' keeps the mellow vibes going, but there's the sense that it could all go off at any moment. As if on cue, Fontaine declares "it's all about to get a bit lairy", before the slow build of 'The Best Tears Of Your Life' explodes into punk anthem 'R&B', triggering mosh pits and a crowdsurf from Fontaine that secures her place as a bona fide rockstar.

'Nearly Daffodils' shakes the place to the core, with yellow confetti cascading down onto a rapturous crowd, with the set all coming together in the powerfully poignant 'Albert Road', a tale that pays tribute to both how far they've come and how far they're going to go.

"Anything is possible," Fontaine tells the crowd before their encore, a cover of LCD Soundsystem's 'New York I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down'. She's not wrong.

A band who ooze talent, confidence, and that special something you can't quite put your finger on, English Teacher have set their coordinates for the stars, and are due to get there at warp speed.