Live review: Superheaven at O2 Ritz  

Ahead of Superheaven's return to a Manchester stage for their first headline show in the city since November 2015, New York’s Soul Blind opened the night with a shriek of guitars. They warmed the crowd up instantly, the blocky Superheaven logo looming behind them on the stage. Long skater hair-dos flew in every direction, in time with powerful grunge-y drum beats. They were succeeded by Balance and Composure, lifelong friends of the headliners, whose music is slightly softer than Soul Blind’s – less heavy and more emo. The vocals have more breathing room, and their forceful hooks sent lead singer and guitarist Jon Simmons dad-dancing around the stage for the majority of the set.

The main act trooped onto the stage at ten to ten, opening their set with 'Stare At The Void' from their 2025 self-titled record, as Claymation visuals are projected onto their logo. This self-titled reunion album, marking their first in a decade, is a welcome return to their signature post-grunge sound. While it may not compete with Jar, their most popular and acclaimed record, it’s certainly a worthwhile body of work which adds something new to their live gigs.

The Pennsylvania four-piece formed in the late 2000s under the name Daylight. They released two studio records in 2013 and 2015 which brought them cult success in the US, followed by an almost decade-long hiatus. Various one-off reunion gigs during this time (one of which being a set at Manchester’s Outbreak festival in 2022 alongside Basement and Turnstile) oversaw a gradual increase in the band’s popularity.

This then skyrocketed in 2023 after ‘Youngest Daughter’ found viral success on TikTok. Over 100,000 videos have been posted under the song, and it has since been streamed over 210 million times on Spotify alone. Phones fly up when this song is played at the halfway point of their set. The band appear in a kaleidoscope of screens as their lyrics are echoed back to them in a choral Manchester accent, the pit functioning as a conveyor belt of crowd surfers by this point. With each song, at least five audience members are carried to the front, sent over the barrier, and then escorted to the back of the venue by the staff.

An injury in one of the mosh pits caused a temporary halt to the gig, leading chants to begin probing the band to carry on. Quickly shutting these down, co-vocalist and guitarist Taylor Madiso says “I’ll give fifteen hundred pounds for someone to slit that guy’s neck". He later apologises for encouraging an assassination, but stresses the importance of the welfare of every audience member. An aisle forms in the crowd, and there are cheers as the incident is seemingly dealt with by venue security.

The band unquestionably end on a high note, with 'In On It' and 'Poor Aileen', two songs from their earlier works, closing their hour-long set. Swirling guitars pulse through the auditorium, and sweaty torsos collide under purple lights as pints and shirts are launched into the air. The members of Superheaven leave a trail of feedback distortion ringing as they exit the stage and the hordes of fans funnel out of the O2 Ritz.

https://open.spotify.com/album/3PAgZaonECR1PGhRg3YBVX?si=gHBr9E7yRS-RUrZTtelFeA