3 May 2026, Cirque Royale, Brussels
The final ‘gig’ of the May Bank Holiday weekend saw me back in Brussels to see The Haunted Youth in the truly wonderful venue that is Cirque Royal
Like more than a few bands over the years, the early albums tend to showcase the raw energy and creativity that exists with the act, and in the case of Haunted Youth I had been drawn by his 2022 album Dawn Of The Freak which had critics offering up very favourable reviews which praised frontman Joachim Liebens’ ability to craft hazy, melancholic synths and jangly guitars, often comparing the record’s immersive feel to bands like The Cure, Slowdive, and MGMT. Listening to the album it was easy to see where such comparisons came from and that was a confident wee step taking me the couple of miles to the venue.
The latest album which the tour was promoting Boys Cry Too changed direction towards a louder, heavier, and more emotionally unfiltered direction. It heavily featured drums, aggressive grunge riffs, distortion, and towering shoegaze walls of sound and made the gig all the better for the tracks that made it onto the set list for the evening.
As mentioned, the venue Cirque Royal is a beautifully crafted space however, when you are seated in the upper balcony and probably need an Uber to get to the stage, you tend to lose a bit of the vitality those on the floor were able to partake in.
Musically, the gig was genuinely welcome as a counterbalance from the fuzz and reverb extravaganza of the previous two nights in Eindhoven.
Joachim Liebens himself isa very fine guitarist, songwriter and showman and the word on the Belgium streets at least is that he is tipped to go all the way. Only time will tell but he’s on my radar for another look at him sometime in the future.
