2021 marks a decade of Against The Current for Chrissy Costanza, Dan Gow and Will Ferri. Throughout these ten years, the band evolved from being a YouTube cover band to releasing two full-length albums (In Our Bones and Past Lives) under Fueled By Ramen.
During both eras, Against The Current integrated electronic sounds to distinguish themselves from their influences, Paramore and Hey Monday, to name a few. And despite both records sounding cohesive and demonstrating breadth of artistry, there were a few moments of experimentation that hinted at an identity crisis - perhaps related to the attempt of discarding their YouTube past, or shying away from the pop-rock sound that was prevalent in their roots, prior to signing with Fueled By Ramen.
Fortunately, the confusion that lingered in the two records was resolved with their latest pop-rock release, Fever EP. The Fueled By Ramen trio revisited lively guitars and drums that overwhelmed the sonic space and paired it with subtle electronic synths that were heard in In Our Bones and Past Lives. The EP not only reflected the culmination of everything Against The Current has ever done, but also unraveled the avant-garde art within itself.
As the EP received critical praise throughout multiple territories, Against The Current celebrated their release with fans across the US, including their show at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles last week. Contrary to the band’s reserved performance at The Roxy five years ago, Against The Current carried themselves with maturity, fully embracing who they were and understanding who they were playing to. Although electronic synths still played a vital role in their performance, the band returned to having catchy guitar riffs and crisp drums as their musical backbone, coinciding with the pop-rock resurgence of the alternative world. Even though many in the crowd raised their hands when lead singer, Chrissy Costanza, asked if it was anyone’s first Against The Current show, this new crowd, unlike the group five years ago, knew every word, bounced up and down, and reciprocated the liberating energy exuded by the band.
Against The Current topped off their exquisite setlist with a cover of Taking Back Sunday’s “MakeDamnSure” and a surprise live Los Angeles debut of their League of Legends theme song, “Legends Never Die.” Although “Legends Never Die” is by far the band’s biggest song, having over 300 million streams on Spotify, the band has only ever played it at League of Legends events prior to this tour. Instead of worrying about the industry classifying them as a video game band, Against The Current performed the song unapologetically. And the audience was quick to affirm the decision as they, too, screamed “Legends Never Die / When the world is calling you / Can you hear them screaming out your name?” to close out the spectacular night.
Here are some photos from the incredible show:
Photography by Enoch Chuang