I said Frog was a bold opening to their album.

It’s an even bolder opening to their live performance.

I always like seeing bands at Scala. It’s like a mini version of KOKO, but with a sound system cranked as though nobody told it otherwise.

I’d been curious, almost puzzled, all week to hear how the album would translate live. These meticulously layered rhythmic guitars with a gooey centre, baked by Mary Berry herself, sounded impossible to pull off on stage.

Yet it sounded even better, and looked even more impressive.

“Lend Me Your Brain” is a crazy display of their abilities, particularly Alex Evans’s. A lead vocalist’s lead guitar role has no business being that good—especially when both are executed so flawlessly.

Let’s go back to the beginning, though: “Frog”. A “bash-full”—as in full of bash, the antonym of bashful—introduction to both their live show and the album.

It takes two full minutes to reach any lyrics. You’re on a runaway locomotive, chugged along uncontrollably by Jack Tollman’s rhythm guitar, Malte Henning’s thudding bass drum, and Rory Evans’s sharp bass. Trickling over the top like neon light trails is Alex Evans’s reverb-drenched lead guitar, mirroring the track’s building intensity.

You can almost feel your hands clenching, desperate to hold on to something before you take off.

It set the tone for the album; it achieved the exact same thing here.

There’s something to be said about leaving a live show with a fresh perspective on a band. In a generation of digital gloss and bedroom-generated tracks layered by a solo artist clicking in MIDI notes, it’s refreshing to hear something so physical and outside of that bubble.

Nearly all their songs pack a furious burst of energy that culminates in a storming two-minute instrumental meltdown, before snapping right back into the song as if nothing happened.

I don’t know if they’re just modest about their lyrics or simply addicted to an instrumental breakout, but they’re bringing guitar solos back into the limelight.

World News have found their superpower—one that most indie outfits actively dodge these days—and doubled down on it.

Tracks from the new record were well-received across the board, with the band settling into their groove a couple of songs in.

The brothers dedicated “The Tinman” to their dad, who sadly passed away recently. It was a triumphant tribute met with rapturous applause—a feedback loop of emotion only broken when they dived into their next track, “Flying A Drone”.

At this point, I ran for a piss and returned to find Rory sporting a massive papier-mâché brain for “Mindsnap”.

They wrapped up with “Wrapped in Gold”, one of their most celebrated tracks that originally put World News on the map via The Tinman EP. It was the perfect finale. I don't know if it was designed to do so, but the Scala floor was genuinely bouncing.

I left in awe as they handed out flyers for their KOKO gig this time next year. It makes total sense.