bReview: Voom - 'Something Good is Happening' Tour
at Double Whammy, Friday 23 May 2025
Written by Evelyn Jones
Photography by Maanika Narsai
As I waited in the lively, intimate space of Public Bar, seeing crowds of old friends catching up, I got the feeling this night was significantly more than just another gig. Before the night kicked off properly, 95bFM’s own Matthew Crawley, the DJ for the night, recounted the band’s winding, storied history. From their single Beth making the rounds on the station [95bFM] back in 1998, to their hundreds of unreleased songs that were whittled down to a select few, in 3 albums spanning a near 30-year journey. Matthew Crawley reminisced about being a teenager just starting to volunteer at bFM when Voom first formed; He could even recognise some of the people in the audience, those who, throughout the years came back time and time again.
With a tacky flannel and a pale ale in hand, I took to the Double Whammy floor for the first time. The crowd slowly transitioned from catching up at the bar to filtering into the show itself. I’d heard remarks from staff about how many people there were gonna be tonight, but this was the first time I properly saw it. The place was packed, and we hadn’t even gotten to the opener.
Speaking of which, the night kicked off with the band Jim Nothing, playing just the right combination of distortion and reverb to feel both airy and energetic over timeless rhythm guitar. Frances Carter's lead guitar switched from added texture to simple but effective riffs.The songs themselves often felt like the soundtrack to a 2000s/2010s movie. From Seahorse Kingdom, an upbeat tune about a trip to Kelly Tarltons, to the slower songs with Jim and Frances doing a Call-and-Response, to my personal favourite, Easter at the RSC, sporting a slow distorted lead that feels like swimming in static. This was all accompanied by a loveable charm to the band, Jim dancing along to his own guitar hooks and banter between the band and friends in the audience. It was impossible not to smile alongside them the whole set.
(Jim Nothing at Double Whammy / Photo: Maanika Narsai)
It was while waiting for the main event that people started to truly come out in droves. I thought the place was packed before, but now it was lined wall to wall. It felt less like a double-sized venue and more like a tin can holding the world's most excited sardines. The chatter was everywhere, and I thought back to Matthews' earlier remark about the nostalgia in the air. Everyone was talking, bantering, laughing, and gearing up for a good time. The buzz was everywhere, and he hadn’t even gotten on the stage.
But once he did, the crowd erupted. Buzz Moller was wearing an entire outfit of hot pink: Pink shirt, pink beanie, pink pants, pink cable, and even pink pedals and knobs for those with a keen eye. The band went into Beautiful Day (the opener for their 2006 album ‘Hello, are you there?’), there was a striking tone to Moller's voice. It had an age and softness to it, but remained powerful and precise. The song as a whole was a surprisingly delicate start to the show; Some bands open by grabbing attention with the most high-octane song they’ve got, but Voom began by getting a crowd full of people to sing “And the world is alive, See it turning in to light”.
Next up was their Fazerdaze collaboration Magic, a dreamy indie-pop cut that follows a recurring theme I’ve noticed in Voom's music: falling in love and not knowing what to do about it. This theme is expressed perfectly here with the lyrics “you put the magic in me, now what the fuck should I do?”. However, even with that anxious undertone, the song is overall a catchy, dreamy anthem capturing the moment something sweeps you helplessly off your feet.
Those undertones become the centrepiece in the song Trouble, my personal favourite, a song about knowing this love will land him in hot water, but being ready for the consequences. As the riff and solo wail in a manner bordering on desperate and discordant, Buzz repeats “I wanna get in trouble” while we all sing along over this instant rock classic.
Over the course of the night, it truly clicked with me just what makes Voom so long-standing. Part of it was the themes of the songs themselves. Buzz Moller is a master at the universal, taking complex beautiful messages and communicating them in a way so poignant it feels effortless. No matter where you are in life, you’re able to relate to and gain something from these songs, and hearing them live is where the full impact comes in.
Another part is was the sound itself; despite the indie garage-feel of these songs, they are incredibly polished and tight. Each member was perfectly synced, with the right levels to hear every lyric and every small detail. There was a moment in their song King Kong, right before the final chorus, where everything stopped dead silent for just a hair, and the band came back in at the PERFECT time. If you play in a band you understand how hard it is to be locked-in at that level. The songs felt worn-in and perfected, like a jacket you’ve had since the 90s covered in patches of your favourite bands, symbolising the level of craftsmanship that can only be achieved with time.
But I think what made this night so special hit me when, just before performing the title track, Something Good is Happening, Buzz Moller tells a story. He was sitting on his porch one April morning, around 3 weeks into the very first lockdown of 2020. It felt like everyone had gone extinct and the world had fallen into chaos. However, looking at the beautiful sky and the way the clouds parted helped him to remember that “The universe is just going on its magnificent way. There’s always something good happening.” The song itself is like a gentle hug from an old friend, as he sings “Can’t you see you’re surrounded by the wonders of the universe? / Something good is happening.” Later on, he expresses his gratitude and love of the live performance, saying “We’re playing for the people participating in our ancient ritual of stomping, jumping around, singing along, whatever it is, together… as long as you’re making noise, then you're our crowd, and we’re your band!”.
(Voom at Double Whammy / Photo: Maanika Narsai)
The magic of the show was that Voom spoke to the heart of live music. In a world that seems to be ever-increasingly getting darker and more chaotic, art is something we clutch onto for dear life. As people danced with each other, i’m reminded of the times I've moshed at Whammy. The show ended with a sardine can of decades-long fans cathartically throwing every word of B Your Boy right back at the band. It was a night that proved that live music is a ritual as old and storied as anything else, a deeply human ritual that can never truly replace or try to suppress.
Whilst ending the night, Buzz leans back into the mic and, with an air of disbelief in his voice, says “Thank you for waiting 20 years.” I hope that in 20 years' time, I'll be going to shows like this, with the friends and performers I'm lucky enough to grow old with. It’s like Buzz said, “I just keep coming back. What kind of magic is that?”
95bFM 
