Thereās something of a sticky indie disco atmosphere rising from the crowd waiting at the Main Stage East for Two Door Cinema Clubās sunset slot at Reading Festival 2021. You have to duck and dive through mazes of punters hastily swigging from poorly camouflaged hip-flasks (or in one punter’s case, a bottle of makeup remover) and flying pints to even catch a glimpse of the Northern Irish trio.
And thereās sweat, buckets of it. From the moment that frontman Alex Trimble triggers opener āI Can Talkās nimble guitar riff, the temperature rising as a result of the series of the limbs-flailing euphoria that emerges. Itās easy to forget that itās been a whopping 11 years since the track’s parent album, āTourist Historyā, entered the world. Here is a band who understand that they are part of a bigger story; much like their not-quite-indie-landfill comrades The Wombats ā who are simultaneously commanding the Main Stage West at the other end of the site ā Two Door are still capable of garnering serious attention at festivals where their genre contemporaries would not even get a look-in anymore.

You can see why people are still paying attention. Tonightās hour-long setlist is tight and familiar, to the point that the band can afford to shuffle it around and leave a handful of whoppers out. This time, āCigarettes In The Theatreā makes way for riveting debut album track āEat That Up, Itās Good For Youā.Ā Later, with the tempo slightly more subdued compared to the earlier work, the fact that skittering synth-pop material from 2019ās middling āFalse Alarmā holds its own alongside past glories is never less than impressive; showing off their musicianship with the addition of a sampler, it seems that they are finding clever new ways to roll out the hits. Two Doorās propulsive hooks really deliver, though, when they segue into āSunā and āWhat You Knowā for a dizzyingly uplifting climax.
Frustratingly, the band choose to waste what could have been an opportunity to air new music or past deep cuts to the biggest crowds that theyāll meet this summer. But when you see what hearing these seminal indie anthems live means to a new, committed generation of TDCC fans, maybe just shutting up and playing the hits will do just fine.
Check back at NME all weekend for more reviews, news, interviews, photos and more from Reading & Leeds 2021.Ā
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