ROAM have become one of the most hyped British pop punk bands in the country today and tonight’s show at Patterns is a superb demonstration just why. Tonight’s show at Patterns is one of thrashy riffs, screamed vocals and sweat. Lots and lots of sweat.

Whilst this evening is technically a hometown show for the Eastbourne-based boys, their supports could not be further away. Firstly we are met by the Australian boys from Columbus, who are very warmly welcomed by the Brighton crowd. Despite being from half way across the planet and tonight’s first support, many are already here and know the band’s lyrics and are gladly willing to preach them as loud as possible. Next up, Canadians, Like Pacific begin and similarly are clearly a crowd pleaser tonight. Like Pacific are everything you want a pop punk band to be, fun, passionate and eager to start a mosh pit. The raw vocals are incredibly moving and suit each song well, their track ‘22a’, a slower song dedicated to vocalist Jordan’s late grandmother really shows off how talented these guys are, the song invokes serious emotion yet still holds the passion and ferocity of pop punk.

The room darkens and plays the intro to ROAM’s debut album Backbone, the intro is in the style of a radio show which. Then comes to a conclusion, the lights raise and the band burst into the riffs of ‘Cabin Fever’. Immediately the energy is mindblowing, lead singer, Alex Costello begins to bound across the stage, jumping up onto the venue’s crowd barrier and proceeds to scream the lyrics into the audience’s faces. Alex isn't the tallest of guys and yet with each jump he is only a mere few centimeters from smashing his head into the ceiling, the rest of the band too are leaping around the stage, whilst backing vocalist and guitarist, Alex Adam, supplies some delightful harmonies which delightfully compliment the raw emotion from the leading tones.

The set continues with a plethora of tracks from the entirety of ROAM’s releases. Older tracks such as ‘Nothing In Return’ make a very nice appearance and is certainly more ‘dirty’ than the newer material. This is in no way a bad thing and if anything adds more to the anarchistic attitude pop punk is known for.

The reason pop punk is such a unique genre has to be the sense of community that it seems to innately create. No matter how big or small a band seem to be, there are always hardcore fans who always seem to manage to make it to near every show and begin forming close bonds with each other whilst welcoming all newcomers to join them in screaming the lyrics as a collective whole. Tonight is no exception and whilst from an outsider’s perspective to the genre, the moshing may seem incredibly violent, there is a definite sense of care amongst these fans to ensure that no one is being hurt or left uncomfortable. This sense of community is enforced throughout the night as not only do members from Columbus proceed join ROAM on stage, but an extremely surprising appearance from Patty Walters (from legendary Brighton pop punk band, AS IT IS) during ‘Head Rush’ inflicts mass hysteria into an already incredibly energetic room.

Within one of the band’s fewer slower numbers, ‘Tracks’, ROAM take a far more relaxed approach, dimming the lights and asking everyone to get their phone flashes out. With the atmospheric and twinkling light set, the song’s emotional lyrics are fantastically delivered by both Alex’s with a passion that inflicts chills down the spine. The chorus line “I've been dragging my heels in attempts to leave tracks. Hoping that someday soon I can follow them back.” is echoed by the entirety of the crowd, also being delivered with an equal level of sentiment.

ROAM have become yet another Brighton success story and are deserving of such a title. There are few bands which are able to both play with this level of passion and create an incredible community focused around their music, whilst ROAM’s debut album may have been incredible, and with the rate the boys are blowing up, I feel their next release is in fact set to blow even this one out of the water, setting the stones of making ROAM one of the most highly regarded bands in the entire pop punk scene.
Ben Walker

Website: roam.uk.com
Facebook: facebook.com/roamuk
Twitter: twitter.com/ROAMse