Thirty years after Reef hit the charts, they’re back to celebrate the record that cemented them as Britpop stalwarts. After three decades, Replenish stands up as a strong statement, and the way it emerges onstage at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire is a slow, realised appreciation of how an album can spread it’s roots over time.
Reef @ O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Tonight means a lot to a crowd who have stuck with Reef since the early days, holding onto Replenish like a polaroid of an easier time, and by the time we’re through the funk elements added to Naked and the affable soul improv laid onto Good Feeling, we can see exactly why this record has gently gathered its following. Sure, the room has grown in the last few decades, by Repulsive still enchants with its garage closeness.’The first one that me and Jack wrote together that we ended up recording’, according to vocalist Gary Stringer, Mellow emerges as a beautiful deserted beach at daybreak, the guitar hum reverberating up into the balconies. We can almost feel the journey that the title track has taken from demo to this moment, such is the love poured into each strum. A spooky edge on Amy Newton’s guitar squeezes Choose To Live into bright chorus rivers, meandering through grooves before Loose – “as close as we come to heavy metal music,” laughs Stringer – delivers a mini Led Zeppelin moment, illuminating a path that Reef easily could have travelled. End provides a smart finish for the first half of our show, with classic rock blossoming into duelling guitar and bass solos.
Like a flip of the coin, we’re immediately confronted with the other side of Reef, the rest of the back catalogue that grew from Replenish. Hazy guitars pump up the dance party on I Would Have left You, and the crowd’s loving response leaves Stringer slightly stunned at microcosm of Glastonbury energy that he’s met with. Of course, Place Your Hands sparks a huge clap along, the hit genuinely uplifting, and the maximised bass on Summer’s In Bloom drives shining guitar tweaks that make for a magical live rendition. Come Back Brighter makes for a stomping homecoming finish that frames the show with one last boogie before the big Rock finish of Yer Old, turning up all the elements to make for a dance-off and a last chance to have a jostle, full of shouted energy and a resolute attitude from a band who always tow their own path.
Reef @ O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Nostalgia shows where a band highlights a seminal album can seem like relying on the past for present day sales sometimes, but not tonight. Reef have presented the raw roots of their sound to give us an insight into the genesis of their journey across time, a moment of seeing them as they were when they first embarked upon recording. It’s equal parts touching and rousing, and proves once again not only did they form an essential brick in the Britpop wall, but also that they’re still one hell of a rock band.
Review of Reef at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 8th November 2025 by Kate Allvey. Photography by Kalpesh Patel.
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