Revived and rebranded, B-town fellows Superfood descended on the boat-cum-venue Thekla in Bristol to promote their comeback album Bambino. With support from Cousin Kula and whenyoung, the evening began as it meant to go on with indie pop / rock at the forefront. After a lengthy departure from the music scene, and a shaking up of their line-up, Superfood emerged to curiosity and anxiety as to whether their new sound would relay live just as well as debut album Don’t Say That.
However, all qualms of Superfood‘s live ability were quashed when they jumped straight into ‘Where’s The Bass Amp?’ – a feel-good track that summoned a bop from the crowd from the off. Continuing with the more up-tempo/electronic sounding tracks, ‘Double Dutch’ really just emphasised the musical versatility of the indie gems, with the live version sounding even better than the recorded one. At this point, the crowd remained ultimately tame, though delving into their back catalogue, ‘You Can Believe’ was met with flailing arms and jumping from left to right aboard the maritime venue.
Before seeing Superfood, the question was raised as to whether they still “had it”, or if their 3 year break and new approach to music had left them at a loose end – alas, as they rallied through 3 new tracks from Bambino (‘Clo Park’, ‘Raindance’, ‘Need A Little Spider’), it was almost impossible to argue that they’d lost their magic touch. Rallying through a selection of their earlier tracks, ‘Bubbles’, and ‘Right On Satellite’ saw a massive surge of dancing and jumping about, and if anything emphasised the extent to which Superfood‘s appeal reaches, as tracks from both Bambino, Don’t Say That, and the MAM EP received a rapturous reception from the crowd.
Re-living what may once have been their staple track, ‘TV’ brought the main set to its peak, before a reversion to the newer tracks including ‘Unstoppable’, latest single ‘I Can’t Sleep’ and ‘Natural Supersoul’. At this point, Superfood had won over the whole crowd with their indie pop charm. Emerging for their encore, their eponymous crowd-pleaser ‘Superfood’ garnered the attention of crowd surfers and stirred up a hefty mosh pit for their final track of the night.
When considering Superfood, it’s easy to dismiss them as one of the 2013-2014 bands that faded away after a relatively big cult following. Nonetheless, with the stellar release of Bambino, and their impeccable live performance, the B-town band remain relevant and continue to impress.
Words by Jasmin Robinson
