Low ceilings, a dingy bar and a few precariously dangling microphones welcome We Are The Ocean to their Leeds performance at The Key Club – “it’s like playing in a box” muses frontman Liam Cromby. It’s a fitting venue for this evening’s set, which comprises of a real mixture of the band’s discography, right back to the early days of their post-hardcore Cutting Our Teeth LP. ‘What It Feels Like’ and ‘Playing My Heart’ hark back to some of these older days when their gigs were populated by largely adolescent crowds of scene kids and over enthusiastic moshers. Of course, the band has moved on considerably since then but it’s a gracious gesture for the long time fans.

Expansive anthem ‘Holy Fire’ showcases the band’s best power rock and infuses the room with an infectious dynamism. If you were only to close your eyes and imagine, you could be in packed out stadium with Liam Cromby’s voice soaring over the choruses on what is their most ambitious song yet.

After a powerful rendition of ‘Confessions’, there’s a definite shift in the atmosphere as the band’s energy levels surge and a cover of London Grammar’s ‘Hey Now’ goes down surprisingly well. By ‘Bleed’, the cramped crowd becomes even more compressed as they rush forward and an intense circle pit begins to form. An excitable audience transforms into a boisterous frenzy of flying limbs and sweaty fringes as they feed off the band’s energy and then throw it back to them in the form of screaming lyrics and furious fist pumps.

They’ve matured and honed their sound, but if tonight is anything to go by, We Are The Ocean have proven they’ve still got that good old fighting spirit.

Natasha Lyons