Fever

Hull five-piece Fever formed back in late 2019, making their Sheffield debut at Cafe Totem with the release of their first single, ‘Jungle Man’. Spelling success, the band signed to Blossoms’ label Very Clever Records and have gone on to support them on their Foolish Loving Spaces tour, which briefly started back in March 2020.

Although the pandemic halted Fever’s debut campaign – with their sold-out headline Sheffield gig happened nearly two years ago – the band have used their time away from live music to their advantage. A string of newly-written anthemic hits like ‘Honesty’, ‘International Dream’ and ‘Time Will Define’ prove that there’s always a way to make the best out of a bad situation.

With a solidified sound, Fever attracted a relaxed crowd for their Wednesday night gig at Sidney and Matilda. Opener ‘International Dream’, a song that unashamedly rejects conventionality and the glamourised age of social media, marks the kind of band that Fever are: full of driven guitar melodies and fluttering synths. Singer James Harrod’s vocals linger, poignant and alluring as ever, but even more so heard live.

Sonically, Fever are more than just an indie-rock band, since their harmonious choruses offer an element of nostalgia. ‘Jungle Man’ has the same effect. Unleashing soaring riffs that nod to a long-gone musical era, the band’s infectious live sound continues on an upward trajectory.

Their performances of ‘Electric’, ‘Money Love’ and the sweet slow-starter ‘Honesty’ were colourful and emotive thanks to Harrod’s vulnerable and defiant lyricism. This is the same on their new tracks, which the band tested out at the gig, giving us an exclusive play of their next single. You could describe their unreleased music as ‘Shazam songs’ – those incredibly catchy tracks you hear when you’re out that compel you to awkwardly get your phone out to check the title and artist name.

Their set concludes with ‘Time Will Define’, which glitters with pulsing eighties synths that belong on a Stranger Things episode. There’s a maturity to Fever’s catalogue. On stage, the group evoke an effortlessness which makes watching them live a delight.