TO EXIST IN A MOMENT.

For years, live albums have held a band’s legacy between the grooves of the vinyl or in the shine of the CD.

And in that space, a multitude of lives have come together, the screams and cheers, the sing along, all of it is made up of each and every fan that sits in that audience. They’re an accumulation of thousands of lives that have joined together by the solitary power of the songs that are transmitted through your speakers.

From the opening rumble and the reaction to the first guitar riff, Live At Brixton immerses us into the very community that orbits DMA’s. They know every word of Feels Like 37 before it rolls off frontman Tommy O’Dell’s tongue and their breathless words capture their restless movements. Their energy, the undercurrent for both the band and the track.

Musicians are not solitary creatures after all. They don’t solely exist in recording booths and studios; they belong on a stage.

Silver offers up a fine example of how the voices in O2 Academy Brixton united on that night. It captures the beauty of live performance, as the lyrics echo through the space and the sound is amplified by those who join in and the meaning the lyrics have for them. The single, was also a single from their 2020 album THE GLOW. An undeniable favourite of both the band and the fans, it is fitting that once again, this was the first encounter people had with the upcoming live album.

As Tommy breathlessly utters “thank you”, we are reminded of the power we hold as fans. Musicians are not solitary creatures after all. They don’t solely exist in recording booths and studios; they belong on a stage.

For many who were there on the night of the recording, March 6th 2020, the performance was their last experience of live music, before the world shut down and DMA’s had to leave London, this gig happened. And thanks to the space in time that this album exists in, it doesn’t solely capture one performance, but instead, it honours each and every experience of live music we as listeners have ever had. It serves as a reminder. A reminder of the gigs that came before and those that will come after. Of how your voice will crack in the days following because you, for one night only, took the role of a backing singer in a live performance of your favourite song.

Their musicianship and every loyal fanbase coexist in a piece of work that was needed more than most realise.

Live music has soul healing power, where in a segment of time, you exist only within the four walls of the venue. You have the ability to leave your independent stressors at the door and unite with a crowd of strangers, all of whom have the same common purpose, to simply be.

Live at Brixton captures a community on the edge, threatened by the inevitable lock down the world was creeping in to, but determined to continue living to the fullest until told otherwise. From Delete to Step Up The Morphine, DMA’s offer up an opportunity to travel in time. Not simply back to the days where live performances were possible, but through every one of their albums.

It is a ‘best of’ compilation, just as every live performance is. Tracking back through the band’s history and in turn, ours. Where a singular album offers up a handful of memories, an entire back catalogue offers fans a chance to recall a whole lot more. That very first album play, friendships made through sharing these songs, the tired eyes the next day after a group of you stayed up to listen to it and how you shared opinions through stifled yawns.

Whilst it serves as a trip down memory lane for us, for DMAs, it captures the legacy they have forged for themselves. From their lyricism to their renowned ability to offer up a live performance like no other. Their musicianship and every loyal fanbase coexist in a piece of work that was needed more than most realise. A reminder of the beauty that existed before the pandemic and what will soon return.

DMA's - Live At Brixton is out 5th March via Infectious Music.