Sports Team bring a little Brit post-punk to Free At Noon

Sports Team, a six member band from London, played with confidence and style for WXPN at World Cafe Live. Led by lead singer Alex Rice, Sports Team play a UK-styled alternative rock. With so many similarities to other British rock bands, like Shame or Yard Act, Sports Team did not disappoint. 

Originally from Cambridge, Sports Team came to the stage back in 2018, where they released their first EP “Winter Nets.” Now they’re on tour, and took the Free at Noon stage to warm up for a Friday night gig at Asbury Park’s legendary venue The Stone Pony. The band has released two complete albums: first Deep Down Happy in 2020 which consists of 12 total songs, then with Gulp! in 2022 which consists of 10 songs. After releasing multiple EPs and two studio albums, they are coming out with a new album Boys These Days which will be released in February 2025.

Sports Team left it all on the floor with an incredibly vibrant and electric set for Free At Noon. The group kickstarted their set with the song “The Drop,” one of their most played songs on Spotify. Frontman Alex Rice and the band instantly woke the crowd up, stringing away with bassist Oli Dewdney, rhythm guitarist Rob Knaggs, lead guitarist Henry Young, drummer Al Greenwood and the keyboard player Ben Mack. The song filled the building with excitement and applause, which was then continued by the songs “Bang Bang Bang” (unreleased) “Here It Comes Again,” and “Cool It Kid.” 

The band continued their set with the songs “Ski Lifts,” “Subaru,” and “Here’s The Thing.” The first of these truly showed what Sports Team group is capable of, from a range of pitches and tones in their singing, to electric guitar and drum playing. After a few puns and jokes, they played their song “I’m In Love (Subaru)” which blew the crowd away. After their most eccentric song “Here’s The Thing,” they capped off the concert with a well-written, slower and more moving song, “Maybe When We’re 30.” The song speaks on growing old with one another, and the things people might not be able to do together now, but maybe later on down the road. 

With very talented guitar, drumming and keyboard players, along with an excellent range of vocals and lyrics, Sports Team played an impressive Free At Noon set. Their new album, Boys These Days is due to release on Bright Antenna Records in February 2025. Catch them live as they continue their tour throughout the country this fall and winter.