Sandwiched between the evening’s headliner and the surprise detonation that was Runaway Club, Afterdrive had their work cut out for them. Stylistically, they sit some distance from both acts, which could have made for a difficult transition, but they manage to win the audience over on their own terms.
Their sound plays like a streamlined update of the last four decades of pop rock, with nods to Duran Duran, Take That, and Maroon 5, alongside flashes of pop-punk in the vein of Blink-182. On paper, it reads like an unlikely mix, and in practice, it is exactly that, but it holds together better than expected.
A good part of that comes down to delivery. The band plays it straight, without irony, and leans into the melodic side of the material without sanding off its edges. The songs are built to move, hooks arrive where they should, and the overall tone remains upbeat without tipping into excess.
By the end of the set, the initial hesitation in the room has largely disappeared. It is not hard to imagine a few of these tracks finding a wider audience with the right push. All the signs are there, and they point in the right direction.
