ShareEnglish Teacher performing their This Could Be Texas Tour at Rock City Nottingham on Thursday 13th November 2025.
Review by Kevin Cooper
On Thursday night British indie rock band English Teacher brought their dreamy tracks to an excited crowd at Rock City and from the very beginning the band’s energy emanated throughout the venue.
Fresh off their September 2024 Mercury Prize win for their debut album This Could Be Texas, their set list included a run through all of the album tracks interspersed here and there with some new songs, which showcased front woman Lily Fontaine’s captivating and charismatic presence.
Opening with the album’s slow burning closer Albert Road which sedately and slowly set the evening’s tone, they followed up with a stunning performance of The Best Tears Of Your Life which immediately showcased Fontaine’s brilliant vocals, and lead guitarist Lewis Whiting, drummer Douglas Frost and bassist Nicolas Eden’s depth as a band. And with the addition of a cello played by Blossom Caldarone, the level of musicality was extremely high.
For the beautiful frenetic off beat Broken Biscuits Fontaine took to the keys and Albatros provided the first jam opportunity and showcased the bands ability to be spontaneous. They then delivered new songs Billboards and This Is A Good Age with its catchy lyrics that grabbed the crowd who were delighted to hear new material and the combination of guitars, drums and cello means that this song is bound to be a hit.
Songs like Toothpick and Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space were exceptional to hear live and Mastermind Specialism delighted with truly haunting vocals and saw drummer Frost switch to the keyboard whilst Caldarone delivered a spellbinding cello melody that kept the crowd enthralled.
You Blister My Paint is a lovely love song performed against a sparse piano background which allowed Fontaine’s voice to soar around the auditorium and brought the crowd to a hushed standstill. They powered through their seventeen song set which included This Could Be Texas, I’m Not Crying You’re Crying and one of their catchiest tunes, The World’s Biggest Paving Slab which encouraged a sing along.
Finishing with one of their biggest hits Nearly Daffodils the whole set had been scattered with moments of spine tingling brilliance. For the encore there was oldie Good Grief which went down a storm and whilst English Teacher are being touted as one of the next great bands, and with only their debut album to judge them on, this is an exciting time to discover this up and coming band.