English Teacher review: Mercury-winners steal the show with triumphant homecoming gig at In The City festival

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English Teacher, this year's Mercury Prize winners, stole the show at their homecoming gig at Live At Leeds In The City 2024.

The citywide festival returned this weekend (November 16), hosting over one hundred bands and artists across dozens of venues in Leeds. Unlike other festivals I've visited, Live At Leeds leads to many discoveries as I seldom know many of the bands on the bill.

Italian singer Runa and Essex-born Talia Rae delivered mesmerisingly beautiful tunes at Sela Bar and Headrow House respectively. Rae's unexpected cover of Portishead's 1995 classic Glory Box was a standout performance I'll remember for a long time. Leeds-based L'Objectif was another highlight - although an act I knew from before.

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They might not have topped this year's Live At Leeds bill, but for many, English Teacher was the big act of the night.They might not have topped this year's Live At Leeds bill, but for many, English Teacher was the big act of the night.
They might not have topped this year's Live At Leeds bill, but for many, English Teacher was the big act of the night. | Jacob Flannery

While Manchester art-rockers Everything Everything topped the 2024 bill, Leeds' very own English Teacher were, for me and many others, the true headliner.

Formed in 2020 at Leeds Conservatoire, English Teacher's members—Lily Fontaine, Lewis Whiting, Douglas Frost, and Nicholas Eden—released their debut album 'This Could Be Texas' earlier this year to critical acclaim. It became the first album by a band from outside London to win the coveted Mercury Prize in a decade.

With such an achievement, it's no wonder Leeds Beckett's student union is packed for the 6.45pm festival slot.

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Taking the stage at Leeds Beckett's student union for their 6.45pm slot, the quartet immediately captivates the crowd with their first single, R&B, on which singer Lily proclaims: "The shivering truth of the mattеr is so easy to see/If I have stuff to write, thеn why don't I just write it for me?/Despite appearances, I haven't got the voice for R&B/Even though I've seen more COLORS Shows than KEXPs."

What makes English Teacher exceptional is their seamless transition from hard-hitting post-punk to beautiful, thoughtful indie without it feeling forced.

English Teacher's debut album 'This Could Be Texas' won the 2024 Mercury Prize.English Teacher's debut album 'This Could Be Texas' won the 2024 Mercury Prize.
English Teacher's debut album 'This Could Be Texas' won the 2024 Mercury Prize. | Jacob Flannery

The 45-minute set is filled with album highlights such as Albatross, The World's Biggest Pavement Slab, and Nearly Daffodils, songs well on their way to becoming indie classics.

While short and sweet, the show is brought to an end with the soul-crushingly beautiful Albert Road, accompanied by the quartet sharing generous swigs from a bottle of wine in true indie sleaze fashion.

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It's incredible to see just how far this quartet has come since I first saw them at Live At Leeds In The City three years ago. The festival has played a vital part in promoting young, new artists from the city and beyond for well over a decade, and the band is a perfect example of the festival doing exactly what it sets out to do.

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