Everything Everything wasted no time in catapulting the crowd into their universe of bizarre lyrics and eclectic hooks at the Tramshed in Cardiff. There really is no mistaking their ethereal sound, a mix of futuristic synths, guitars and Jonathan Higgs’ striking falsetto – which he launched straight into in the first verse of Teletype as the band bounced onstage.

With the release of new album Raw Data Feel just around the corner, the opening night of the tour showcased noticeably dancier new singles Bad Friday and I Want A Love Like This, alongside some of the classics that the crowd have come to know and love from their back catalogue. One thing is for sure, whether it’s an unheard album track or a song that’s been around since album one, this band knows how to get people dancing.

A mashup of old-school video game-style synth sounds and dreamlike slower numbers, the setlist felt like an assault on the senses, but in a way that seemed to work. Racing through Cough Cough, Can’t Do and Kemosabe in a frenzy of crowd singalongs and mental keys, the room seemed to heat up with frantic energy and movement, before mellowing out again with the calmer, spacier Planets and In Birdsong. After quickly allowing people to catch their breath in the slower songs, the encore moves away from the futuristic sounds we’d heard so far and is reserved for good old drums and guitar, with Violent Sun and Distant Past getting feet stomping again.

At times it can be quite hard to follow Everything Everything’s lyrics or understand the meaning behind them – set closer No Reptiles a prime example – but that doesn’t seem to matter. As Higgs moves through the unintelligible first verse at lightning speed, the lights flash to the tempo of the pounding drums and chants of feeling “like a fat child in a pushchair” reverberate throughout the room. Could it be a profound metaphor for society? Who knows, but it makes for an epic crescendo to the night.

Tramshed, Cardiff, Wed 30 Mar

words ANNIE BISHOP photos JONATHAN HERRON