Matt Goss took to the hallowed stage of the London Palladium on Sunday, April 6th, 2025, delivering a performance that underscored his enduring showmanship. For those familiar with the pop landscape of the late 1980s, Goss’s name is synonymous with Bros, the chart-topping group that dominated the era before disbanding in 1992. The evening commenced with the familiar strains of "I Owe You Nothing," immediately engaging the capacity audience with a formidable band.
Having spent considerable years performing in Las Vegas, Goss presents himself as a seasoned professional, adept at the nuances of live entertainment. His stage presence was undeniable, revealing an artist comfortable in his own skin and in command of his craft. He knows every trick in the book to hold the audience in the palm of his hand, often engaging directly to audience members who were clearly enamoured.
He lived up to the billing of The Hits & More tour, which encompassed several cover versions of classic songs. The first ‘I Wish’ from Stevie Wonder’s majestic ‘Songs In The Key of Life’ album. When you cover Wonder you know you need to be at the top of your game and indeed his vocal capabilities remain a significant asset. In a leather jacket and Rolling Stones t-shirt Goss projects his voice with power, clarity and ease throughout the wonderful Palladium.
Backing Goss was a proficient nine-piece band, each member demonstrating considerable musical expertise. A notable contribution came from Karen Straw on trumpet, whose versatile and impassioned playing shone bright deserving of praise but there was no dead weight here, Goss was comfortable at the helm of an extremely well-oiled machine.
The setlist offered a mix of Goss’s own material, selections from his more recent work, and a number of cover versions. These included a take on Oasis’s "Champagne Supernova," Rufus & Chaka Khan’s "Ain't Nobody," and Ray Charles’s "I've Got a Woman." New original tracks performed included the upbeat "Disco Mona Lisa" and more relaxed "Are You Mine."
Viral sensation on TikTok "We Are Not Broken" was well-received as was the uplifting solo album title track "The Beautiful Unknown." It was a night where Goss showcased his musical artistry with a slick, soulful performance that captivated the audience and left them cheering for more.
Bross songs "Drop the Boy” and the expected set closer, "When Will I Be Famous?" were rightly greeted with standing ovations and smiling faces all around. Another triumph for Goss, long may he continue.
Setlist
I Owe You Nothing
I Wish (Stevie Wonder cover)
Disco mona lisa
Are you mine
Champagne Supernova (Oasis cover)
Drop the Boy
Every time we say goodbye
We Are Not Broken
Firefly
Ain't Nobody (Rufus & Chaka Khan cover)
The Beautiful Unknown
I've Got a Woman (Ray Charles cover)
Hard to handle (Otis Redding cover)
Just for a Change
When Will I Be Famous?
MUSIC PREMIERES
Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.
There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.
The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.
Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.
Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.
