The Departure: Cockpit, Leeds, Sept 28th

Taking the best parts of Duran Duran and the rest from a lot of far cooler acts, The Departure’s earlier work certainly went down a treat, with old favourites such as “Lump In My Throat” and “All Mapped Out” getting the small Cockpit crowd moving. It was in the new material however, that the interest lied as they showed off a range of material from the forthcoming album, including latest single “Chemicals” and the rousing “Seven Years”. In these new songs lays a degree of pop appeal that the band never managed to grasp before, however brilliant and bleak their first release was.
The funky bass of Ben Winton and thick, layered guitar of Sam Harvey showed individual talent and this all tied together in a great sounding show. Front man David Jones crooned and leant over the stage with a certain degree of menace, which matched his sharp, witty lyrics but always finished with a smile as the band clearly enjoyed their warm reception.
Much has changed for the Departure since their first album, the loss of two members and a distinct shift in sound but sometimes change is for the better, and perhaps now they will get the attention they have always deserved.