Antony Szmierek 'Decoding Birdsong' Tour

Antony Szmierek is one of the most distinctive artists to emerge in the UK in recent years, bridging the worlds of spoken-word poetry and euphoric electronic music in a way that sounds entirely his own. His debut album ‘Service Station at the End of the Universe’ announced him to the world with rave reviews, but new album ‘Decoding Birdsong’ has taken his musicality to even greater heights. Hot off the album's release, Antony is currently in the midst of a UK tour under the same title, which rolled into Cambridge Junction last night. For anyone who has heard Szmierek’s music on record and wondered what it sounds like at full force in a room full of people who know every word, last night was the answer. It takes everything to a completely different level with a gig experience like no other I have been to.

The night began with the tour's special guest Ellur, who seemed to almost float onto the stage before immediately locking eyes with the crowd and refusing to let go. Sunday night audiences in Cambridge can take a moment to warm up, but Ellur broke through that within seconds. She is a natural performer whose music announces itself immediately, backed up by what can only be described as something of a grassroots supergroup of a backing band. EEVAH vocalist Nicole Hope Smith is on the keys and backing vocals, whilst the band's drummer Fay Clayton also joins Ellur's live line-up. They are joined by the sensational Lola Simms on guitar, a great solo artist in her own right, and the brilliant basslines of Louis George. 

On the surface, the gap in genre between Ellur and Szmierek might seem wide, but what the two share is a lyricism that cuts straight to the point and an ability to make a room feel personally spoken to, which is exactly why the pairing worked so well. By the time 'God Help Me Now' brought Ellur's set to an end, one of the best songs written in recent years ringing out across a fully converted Cambridge crowd, the room was more than ready for what came next.

Antony Szmierek took to the stage, backed by his multi-talented live band and an illuminated box housing the heron that has become one of the defining symbols of this album cycle due to its appearance on the album cover. Album opener 'Chalk' also opened the headline set, as Szmierek bounced around the stage and climbed onto the barrier to get as close to the audience as possible, only spurring the crowd on further. The connection between Szmierek and his audience is something you have to witness to fully understand. It feels completely genuine and runs in both directions, with nothing illustrating that more perfectly than the moment an audience member called Grace produced a signed block of butter to give to Antony. It started off appearing to be one of the most random moments I have ever witnessed at a gig, until Szmierek explained Grace was actually returning the favour for when he had given her a signed block of butter as part of a rider handout when playing the same venue last year at the Shiny New Model festival. The fact that intimate moments like this can still happen in a show of this scale is entirely a testament to who he is as an artist.

It is all well and good having this energy and audience connection, but what's most important is the music, and Antony Szmierek has that in abundance. Often music rooted in electronic dance can be thrilling without carrying much emotional depth, but the night's headliner operates somewhere else entirely. He would be as comfortable stepping into the role of poet laureate as he would headlining a rave, and his live show feels like the perfect amalgamation of both. The sharp, relatable storytelling that runs through 'Decoding Birdsong'  landed with even greater force in a live setting, surrounded by a crowd who clearly felt every word. The setlist spanned his body of work with the obvious focus on the new album, building through the kind of extended euphoric peaks that gave every person in the room more than enough reason to never stop moving.

One of the night's most purely joyful moments came when "Ellur from earlier", as Antony repeatedly referred to them, made their way back to the stage to front their duet 'Bookie's Favourite'. The two of them bouncing around the stage, making each other break into laughter mid-song, managed to make the crowd even more engaged, as 800 people bounced with huge grins on their faces. It was the kind of spontaneous warmth that cannot be manufactured but makes gigs like this feel so much more personal.

A powerful closing duo of 'The Words to Auld Lang Syne' and 'Rafters' brought the evening to the end it deserved, the crowd singing back every word as if their lives depended on it. It was the perfect endpoint to reinforce just how communal an experience this show was Antony Szmierek's live shows have become. As clichéd as it is to say that an artist sounds even better live than on record, in Szmierek's case it is simply true. His delivery and presence take everything to a level the recordings can only gesture towards. He performed last night in exactly the way I imagine he would in a full arena, with absolute conviction, and on this evidence it will not be long before those arenas become a reality.