poppedmusic

Paris Youth Foundation

Arts Club, Liverpool, April 14th 2017

Words: Rebecca Worthington

After hearing that their debut performance was on the BBC introducing stage at Reading and Leeds festival but missing out on their Liverpool headliner at Buyer’s Club back in December I was excited to kick start my Easter weekend by seeing Paris Youth Foundation shine in front of their eagerly awaiting home crowd at Arts Club.
I caught the end of The JJohns set however, unfortunately, not enough of it to give a coherent review but after a quick changeover Hanover took to the stage. The band built a rapport with the crowd immediately and their electronic banging-walking-beat drums and poppy-synth anthems made it very hard to keep still.
The lights then dimmed and Paris Youth Foundation emerged in darkness – cue the cheers and screaming girls, I could already anticipate that this was going to be something special. The band broke into their first song Lights Out, an upbeat indie-pop song and I could not help but like this song, it is catchy as hell and was quickly followed by the band’s first release If You Wanna with Bombay bicycle club-esque vocals over big guitar hooks, a sure winner.
The band was interrupted whilst introducing their brand new single Lost Cause. “This song…” began lead singer Kev Potter, “… Is for Kerry!” An excitable lady yelped from the back of the venue and three enthusiastic girls in front of me danced in sync throughout, acting as personal Paris Youth Foundation cheerleaders. I can only see this kind of attention growing for the heart throbs and their love-laced lyrics.
When the chorus of second release (and my favourite) Losing your Love kicked in, layers of shoegaze pop guitars created an atmospheric feel that left me anticipating that these guys will be capturing hearts in many venues and possibly even arenas in the near future.
I eagerly look forward to their debut album this year and hope to see them again at festivals during the summer. You can catch them at Reading and Leeds, Live at Leeds, The Great Escape and Sound City or supporting The Magic Gang in May. Believe me, you will not be disappointed, I certainly wasn’t. It was a particularly ‘Good Friday.’