A lot has happened with Sports Team in the 8 years since our last review of them. Back in 2018 they were supporting Hinds at the modest upstairs room at The Welly in Hull, with only their first EP ‘Winter Nets’ and a handful of other singles in their repertoire.
At the time I wrote that they were on a path to nationwide recognition, and they’ve certainly achieved that. Onto their third album now, with the first two charting at 2 and 3 in the UK chart respectively, Sports Team have matured from plucky upstarts to established ever-evolving indie stalwarts.
Gunpoint
It’s not all been a smooth ride on the motorway though. Sports Team were lucky to escape with their instruments after being robbed at gunpoint on the first day of their recent US tour.
But rather than let it affect them, they declared “They can take our Nintendo Switches but they can never take our ability to play rock songs about motorways”, continued their US tour, and then wrote the day’s set opener ‘Bang Bang Bang’ as a satire of those events.
Best Of The Last 8 Years
After this taste of their recently released album ‘Boys These Days’, they launched into a set which featured their best of the last 8 years. Frontman Alex Rice spotted members of We Are Scientists in the crowd, who will have appreciated the art-rock riffs and catchy vocals on ‘The Drop’.
There were plenty of Sports Team fans who had arrived early at Temple Newsam for their set, and they were treated to early career favourites ‘Camel Crew’ and ‘M5’.
Even the die-hard fans might not have had a chance to listen to the new album yet though, as it came out only the day before Live at Leeds. But they were given a chance to hear further tracks from it, with ‘Sensible’ and then the future sing along song ‘I’m In Love (Subaru)’.
It’s a gorgeous song of sincere love and nostalgia, but for a red Subaru Impreza of course, in an ode to childhood days playing Colin McRae Rally.
Snapping out of that haze, they soon launched into the tongue in cheek ‘Here’s The Thing’. Afterwards, Rice implored some in the crowd to attempt a human pyramid to the sound of ‘Fishing’. It was somewhat successful before descending into a pile of dancing limbs.
To close out the set, it was the introspective ‘Maybe When We’re 30’ from their new album.
On 2020’s ‘Stations of the Cross’ Rice closes out the album ‘Deep Down Happy’ with a youthful call of “and I hope when thirty’s finally here you can sit in your bedroom shouting your neighbours”.
Maybe When We’re 30
5 years older now, they reflect on ‘Maybe When We’re 30’ that what used to seem boring and dull about a settled down life would actually be quite appealing now. Perhaps a sense that one can find joy and comfort in raging a little less against the dying light.
But with a busy year of shows across the UK and Europe ahead, there’s no sign of Sports Team slowing down and moving to the suburbs just yet though.
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