Only Sun tear up Hoxton Square

The CloseUp Promotion tour comes to its familiar stomping ground Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen in London alongside indie rapper Franko Fraize and indie pop-rock six-piece Bedroom/Boredom.

Bedroom/Boredom kick off the night to a measly crowd but nevertheless, they put in a good performance. Playing tunes from their debut EP ‘I wouldn’t Worry’ and their 2017 follow up ‘Reefs’, the band’s distinct funky guitar riffs and unlike some bands, their bass is more dominant that other bands in general. ‘Pills’ and ‘Lemons’ are really powerful and groovy tracks and with only a few songs to their name these guys have huge potential.

Norfolk rapper Franko Fraize stakes to the stage who wouldn’t be your typical artist to be stuck on this lineup but he’s very interesting to watch. With just himself and his cousin as a backing singer on stage, his music encompasses rap, ska, reggae, rock and pop and has recognisable nods to such classic acts as Madness, the Police and the Specials alongside newer acts like the Ordinary Boys, the Streets and Jamie T.

My personal favourites of the night were ‘Side By Side’ and ‘King’. The bold, anthemic choruses and his cousin acting as the featured artists I say he did a pretty good job. His voice flustered at times but if this his first tour on stage then I’ll let him off if he’s got a little stage fright. To add a little surprise to the night, Franko invited Reader and Snowy Dagger to join him for ‘King’.

During song breaks, he’s a chatty kid that does have some strong opinions which I can’t remember much of but I now know he likes craft beer.

High Wycombe five-piece Only Sun bust out onto the stage and go straight into their high octane-tunes ‘Youth’ and ‘Does It Matter?’ set the crowd alive. As well as giving a cheeky shout-out to Sam for ‘So It Goes’, the boys played their upcoming single ‘Happiness (All My Friends) which the boys mentioned had never played live so were a bit nervous about playing it. It’s completely different from their previous 10 tracks. Focusing more on rock than pop the boys managed to pull it off without any hiccups.

To round off the night, Only Sun had two confetti cannons to fire in the last big, jaw-dropping chorus from ‘Indigo’ which rounded off a very good night.