Live review – The Umlauts, London Brixton Windmill, 9/1/25
Nine members, four languages – one top night out

Brixton’s Windmill may not have the largest space available for South London nine-piece The Umlauts to perform in. But for anyone stranded at the rear of this pub (or sat at home in front of the TV) there’s always the next two Thursday nights for another opportunity for a closer look.
This is the first of a three Thursday night residency and the two magnificent support acts (Bathing Suits and Silverwingkiller – more on these another day as the world is still waiting for debut releases from both) make this a great start to 2025, another reminder of the magic that venues such as this can provide for about the same price as a pint.
We’re given a few new tunes tonight that will no doubt be available on the band’s next album, a follow up to the wonderful Slags that we do get a few reminders of during the evening.
Synchronised vocals are sung in English, French, German and Italian. Many of us have no idea what they’re singing about at times, however, with so much going on in front of us this is the least of our worries. A violin is plucked and played conventionally, synths throb, a bass and guitar are plucked sporadically and percussion is provided conventionally from the back and electronically from the front.
It’s an impressive front line that threatens to fall apart at any moment (at one point it actually does) and it’s this that keeps our interests up. We’re treated to throbbing, clicking, mid-paced songs that it’s expected may one day be witnessed inside larger environments and in front of dance hungry music fans that may be starting to tire of dancing to DJs behind desks in favour for the thrill of a more spontaneous performance.

Anyone here tonight is probably hungry to add to what we own already. The new songs blend in with what we are already familiar with and the night ends with ‘Another Fact’, a song that defines Umlauts – and still a piece of music that’s difficult to tire of.
The Umlauts are one of the coolest post-punk dance acts you can still see at the current time and from what we witnessed tonight seem to be opening doors for one or two acts that threaten to join in with this amazing, crazy and inspired form of entertainment. We need more of this. And as the band hint at more than once tonight, we may well get it soon.
Keith Goldhanger (review and photography)
Buy your copy of Slags by The Umlauts on vinyl by clicking here
The Umlauts continue their residency at The Windmill on Brixton Hill with shows on January 16 and 23.