Concert Review: The Supernaturals at EartH London

The Supernaturals don’t need much fanfare, but a quick reminder of their place in the 90s tells you why this room reacted the way it did on this exciting evening of music at EartH, London. Back then they were everywhere - radio singles, festival stages, adverts you couldn’t escape. Anthemic songs that became part of the aesthetic of growing up in Britpop Britain. They wrote songs with hooks that wedged themselves into daily life.

So when they walked on stage this evening, ahead of The Bluetones, the reaction wasn’t just polite curiosity. It was recognition. Dung Beetle kicked the set off and you could feel people remembering things they didn’t realise they’d forgotten.

This wasn’t a nostalgia show dressed up as something else. It was a catch-up — a simple run through the songs that put them on the map. I Wasn’t Built To Get Up (my teenage work anthem), Don’t Let the Past Catch Up With You and Love Has Passed Away followed - each one greeted with that small shift you only see when a crowd genuinely knows the material. Between the songs, plenty of crowd interaction. James McColl blending wit and humour, whether talking about the song at the time, the journey to London, or keyboardist David Currie’s Mother (not safe to review…). We were part of the show, not just spectators.The mood changed again with Sheffield Song and Elle, lighter moments that reminded you how melodic their writing always was. Day Before Yesterday’s Man pulled the room forward, and the anthemic Smile closed the set with the ease of a track that never really left the culture.

They didn’t try to reclaim old ground. They didn’t need to. What they delivered was a tight, honest reminder of why they mattered in the first place: songs that stuck, performed by a band who still understand exactly how to carry them. It’s important to recognise that in an age of society where things feel down, as a society we look back to the nostalgia of better times to feel some warmth. As James sings so eloquently, “You just gotta smile”.

Setlist

Dung Beetle

I wasn't Built To Get Up

Don't Let The Past Catch Up With You

Love Has Passed Away

It Only Gets Worse

Sheffield Song

Elle

Day Before Yesterday's Man

Smile