Australian rock band DMA's have become a core part of musical memories for so many people. With music spanning a decade-and-a-half, their tours have become pilgrimages for their loyal fans worldwide. Their return to Nottingham was, of course, centred on Rock City...
Arriving an hour and a half before DMA's are due on stage, I am already struggling to make much space on the dance floor, with many revellers wearing various DMA's merch from previous albums holding fort by the barrier. My early arrival is rewarded with the opening performance from support band Salary Men. This indie rock duo are an excellent hype band for DMA's, filling the floor with their groovy vibes.
Shortly after their set, I am standing shoulder to shoulder on the sticky floors of one of Nottingham’s most iconic venues, Rock City, listening to the chorus of the crowd who create a drumbeat of anticipation. Each one is chanting "DMA’s, DMA’s, DMA's", all eager to see the Aussie indie band return to the stage for the second night of their sold-out tour.
The first half of the set was a musical tour of fan favourites from their decade-old album, Hill’s End, opening with the gritty and powerful Timeless. The entire first half of the night is almost a time capsule back to the summer of 2016, an evening spent reconnecting with ourselves with new friends, found through our shared love of music. The success of the show and the volume of the crowd demonstrate how timeless a band like the DMA's is. Lead singer Tommy O’Dell’s vulnerable and raw vocals allow us to feel the breeze of belonging, our shoulders swaying next to strangers and friends to the music of our youth.
Despite its name, the following track, Lay Down, has high-energy, which soars through Rock City, powered by the chiming guitar and resonant lyrics, which have people's arms in the air. My favourite song ‘Delete’ plays next and sees shoulders swaying. This emotional track is quite cathartic with its release, with an opening tone that sounds like moonlight and then a chorus that sounds like daybreak as people shout the lyrics "Let it all out". Whatever the reason you relate to this song, it is one that lets you open up your heart and begin to heal. Following in a similar pace, Step up the Morphine, track six on Hill’s End, sees people sat on shoulders, phone torches on; we are standing in the stars we gaze upon. It is a more sombre song, exploring grief; it doesn’t bring the mood of the crowd down, it just brings people closer, which is what love does even when it's supposedly no longer.
Song ten is Blown Away, which feels like a slow dance under a sky full of stars, a conversation with someone close before dawn breaks. It's a more wistful song, a step back from their high-energy guitar-driven tracks, but the crowd loves it. The band say little, letting the music speak for itself, only speaking once to explain how Hill’s End is a special album to them. It's clearly a special album to the crowd and the fans, too.
After a short stage break, they return to the stage with a banger of a new single, Heatin Park. From their upcoming self-titled album, set to release on 7 August 2026, this track lives up to its inspired namesake, a nod to Manchester’s indie rock haven, Heaton Park. Infused with 90s shoegazey guitars and a catchy chorus, it has every single person in the crowd singing it back word for word. You can already tell this will be a festival field filler come summertime, bucket hats premptively bouncing, arms round your mates as you sing your hearts out in the sun.
Track 16 is another one from their upcoming album, My Baby’s Place. It is quite a dreamy track, evoking that nostalgic lull, the closest feeling to a time machine, where, for a moment, you’re back where you now can only wish to be. This song is an era-defining release for the DMAs as it is their first self-produced single.
The high energy returns for the final few tracks, building up in a tidal wave of anthemic drum beats and guitar riffs reflected in the crowd with some people bouncing, beers thrown and chanting, which reaches a steady crescendo at track 17, Olympia, a standout track from their last album, How Many Dreams?, released in 2023.
Ending with one of the earlier songs, confetti streamers explode as the crowd follows suit, beers and bodies thrown into a massive moshpit to the sound of Feels like 37. This dancey, Brit-pop-infused track is such a life-affirming end to the evening that, to paraphrase the title of an un-played DMA's song, they definitely made this Thursday night feel like a weekend. If this night's moving, marching energy is echoed in the upcoming album, I’ll be playing it for several summers to come.
DMA's performed at Rock City on 21st May 2026.
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