Photo Credit Stephen Wilson
Australian rockers The DMA’s boomerang their way back into Scotland
Young Aussie rock outfit The DMA’s are back on British soil, and hit Edinburgh for the start of a new tour, with 2 storming shows at the old Corn Exchange venue, now known as The Edinburgh O2 Academy, in front of an audience who couldn’t wait to hear their heroes live again.
The band were formed in 2012 in Sydney, Australia by Tommy O’Dell on vocals with Matt Mason and Johnny Took on guitars. The band have polished their sound and honed the musical abilities over the last few years since first bursting onto the scene, but their gigs are no less exciting or the atmosphere anything but electric. For both nights the hall was transported back in time, close your eyes and you could easily be attending a Stone Roses or Oasis gig from many moons ago.
The atmosphere in the venue was building as the lights went down first of all for support band Voodoo. The young Glaswegian’s short set was well received, with vocals and guitars by Piero Marcuccilli, aided by Scoobs and Marc McLaren on guitar and bass with Marco Conte bringing up the rear on drums. A tight young band with a great guitar sound, another emerging talent in the bustling Scottish music scene and definitely one to watch in the future.
After a short break to clear up, the lights dimmed again, the main act took to the stage and the crowd roared its approval, supercharged from the word go. The set list tonight covered all bases, opening with Never Before and The Glow, the self-titled track from their most recent release from 2020, and a splattering of tracks from their first two albums Hills End from 2016 and 2018’s For Now, a fair mixture of old and new music.
The set continued. Earlier tunes Dawning and In The Moment came before returning to the new stuff for Silver, Life Is a Game of Changing and Criminals, the new sounds going down well with the sold out, mainly youthful audience, but it was the established tunes they came to hear. Emily Whyte, Tape Deck Sick and In The Air had everyone on their toes and in full voice, joining in the Aussie Edinburgh karaoke combination.
It’s great to see a band so young and talented, bursting with musical ability coupled with meaningful lyrics. Their musical influences are evident in the sound they make, namely The Verve, Oasis, Stone Roses etc, and watching them live you can see they have that confidence and ‘attitude’ too, guys who are clearly loving doing what they do. Lead singer O’Dell, now sporting a beard, has a swagger about the stage that Liam Gallagher would be proud of, and has the crowd eating out the palm of his hand like only Ian Brown or Richard Ashcroft could.
After the main set ended and a short break, the band returned to the stage to an emphatic reception, and a three song encore including Appointment, Lay Down and early number Feels Like 37, which closed the set. They left the stage and the fans left the venue. Another triumphant Scottish gig from the young Australians. Great stuff.
Tonight’s gig was exceptional, the band were on top form, the music was great, the atmosphere was electric, the crowd really up for it. The DMA’s are a band who never disappoint, and always give 100%. Definitely worth seeing live.
Review and Photographs by Stephen Wilson
