 | | The Station (pic: Ged Camera) |
It’s all a frenetic three-minute slam, but the teenagers manage to ally their playing expertise with some catchy numbers. There’s little respite between songs; they play as if they will shortly spontaneously combust and die, but they must finish the set first. Thankfully, they manage to keep the fire just under control. There’s no ‘Hello Manchester’ type introduction from the Early Years; merely an ever-increasing volume of the electro noises from the stage. Very quickly, and silently, almost politely, the spaces at the front are taken as those with previous experience of the group seek a vantage spot.  | | Early Years (pic: Ged Camera) |
Early Years wander about the stage, sometimes interchanging the vocals, mainly feeding off the ethereal effect. Visually, it’s the opposite of the Stations earlier performance. Instead, it’s very much an Explosions In The Sky type of experience; songs rarely last less than four minutes and are filled to the brim with musical twist and turns. The stage lights are dimmed and a projector sends low-key images onto the three guitarists - David Malkinson, Roger Mackin and Phil Raines – and their drummer. Songs begin quietly and steadily paced, before building up to the occasional crescendo of dirty noise, much to the satisfaction of those who are enraptured by their sound. This is music to fill the head, the heart and the soul. | 
