Liverpool Club, Wroclaw, Poland24th October 2025
Empathy Test - “European Tour 2025” - Special Guest: Lakeside-X
There are evenings when live music becomes more than entertainment - it turns into an emotional conversation between stage and audience. The night of 24 October 2025 at Wroclaw’s Liverpool Club was one of those rare moments. Two exceptional acts, LAKESIDE-X and EMPATHY TEST, transformed the intimate venue into a shared pulse of sound, light, and human connection.
It began with Prague’s LAKESIDE-X, whose cinematic electronics and poetic melancholy drew the audience into a world of elegant introspection. Their performance was a study in contrast - all precision and pulse, yet deeply human at its core.
Then came EMPATHY TEST - London’s finest export of emotional intelligence in sound. As Isaac Howlett’s crystalline voice filled the room, time seemed to soften around it. What followed was not just a concert, but a dialogue about vulnerability, beauty, and the quiet power of melody.
Lakeside-X
Before EMPATHY TEST took the stage, the evening opened with LAKESIDE-X - a Prague-based Synthpop / Alt-Electronic quartet with a reputation for cinematic melancholy and pulse. At the heart of it is Janne Marvannen (lead vocals, songwriting), joined by Robert Broj (keyboards) Jakub Zachoval (guitars), and I.G. Dvorsky (drums) - a line-up that blends sleek electronics with a very human beat.
Music & Performance
I first saw them at Castle Party - powerful, atmospheric, magnetic. Yet this. Wroclaw show, in a smaller room, revealed another side: closer, warmer, and just as excellent. It was a brave arrival. They travelled that very day from Budapest, rolling into the city only shortly before showtime and then delivered a performance with high-class precision and heart.
No trace of fatigue; instead, that perfect hinge between vulnerability and drive. Marvannen’s voice carried the narratives like a live wire - tender one moment, flaring the next - while Broj’s synth architecture and Dvorsky’s drums gave the songs weight, urgency, and a rock kick that lifted the room. What made the set glow was connection. Between songs came easy warmth and gratitude - not big gestures, just honest presence. You could feel the circle complete itself: the crowd feeding the band energy; the band giving it back, magnified.
In a club this intimate, every chorus felt like a shared secret, every drop like a collective breath. By the end, the applause was long and heartfelt - not polite, earned. LAKESIDE-X proved that distance and deadlines can’t dim real artistry. They brought sound and soul, steel and silk - and left Wroclaw lit from within
Setlist
01. Tear Down The Wall
02. Time Has Come
03. Lifeline
04. Spiral
05. Fascination
06. Follow Me
07. Bloodflies
08. Rising
Empathy Test
Formed in London in 2013 by vocalist Isaac Howlett and producer Adam Relf, EMPATHY TEST have become one of the most beloved acts on the modern Synthpop scene. Blending cinematic soundscapes with heartfelt lyricism, the band crafts songs that explore human vulnerability, love, and memory through shimmering electronic textures and emotionally charged melodies.
Over the years, EMPATHY TEST have earned an international following with albums such as ‘Losing Touch’, ‘Safe from Harm’, and ‘Monsters,’ as well as Isaac Howlett’s solo work that expands their sonic and emotional palette. Their live performances are celebrated for their intimacy, warmth, and precision - moments where EMPATHY TEST ‘s music is both melancholic and luminous - a reminder that electronic sound can carry the most fragile of human emotions and turn them into something timeless.
Music & Performance
EMPATHY TEST finally came to Wroclaw. Amidst a long and ambitious European tour, the band arrived in our city and the result was nothing short of spectacular. The Liverpool Club, known for its intimate atmosphere and history of hosting remarkable artists, was filled to the brim that Friday night. And for good reason: an EMPATHY TEST concert is always an experience of sensitivity, emotion, and pure beauty.
They opened with my most beloved song, ‘Kirrilee,’ which won me on the spot. From the first notes, that familiar wave of warmth and nostalgia washed over me, and I knew this evening would be unforgettable. From there, it was clear we were witnessing something extraordinary. Isaac Howlett’s voice - that ethereal, crystalline voice - soared through the room like something celestial. There are singers, and there are voices that silence the world for a moment.
His belongs to the latter. It’s not about volume or dramatics; it’s about control, purity, and emotional precision. At times, it felt as if an archangel had stepped down to sing about human fragility. There were moments when I stood frozen, completely still, thinking: what a gift this man has.
But it wasn’t all solemn beauty. There was also warmth, humour, and genuine connection. Isaac’s effortless charm and witty banter made the evening feel personal: a conversation as much as a concert. At one point, he laughed that he’s been 27 for quite a few years now . Indeed, vampires don’t age - and that voice seems eternal.
The setlist flowed like a story - generous and perfectly paced, moving between beloved classics and newer songs that revealed the band’s growth. ‘Last Night on Earth,’ ‘Making Worlds,’ ‘Fear of Disappearing,’ and ‘Holy Rivers’ shimmered with emotion, while ‘Bare My Soul’ and ‘Holding On’ drew collective sighs from the audience. There were also songs from Isaac’s solo work - ‘Eggshell,’ ‘Ghost of the Tsunami,’ and ‘House of Cards’ - seamlessly woven into the night, adding another emotional layer to the show.
When ‘Monsters’ began, the room seemed to hold its breath. That song, perhaps the band’s most iconic, felt reborn live, fragile and powerful at once, like a heartbeat amplified in sound. The closing tracks, ‘Love Moves’ and ‘Here Is the Place,’ bathed the crowd in a wave of light and gratitude.
It was one of those concerts that leave you quietly transformed, lighter, yet somehow fuller. EMPATHY TEST don’t simply perform; they open something in people. And that night in Wroclaw, they reminded us that electronic music can still speak - clearly, tenderly, and profoundly - in the language of the soul.
Setlist
01. Kirrilee
02. Last Night on Earth
03. Making Worlds
04. Fear of Disappearing
05. Holy Rivers
06. Skin
07. Stop
08. Bare My Soul
09. Incubation Song
10. A.R.L.A.S.
11. Eggshell*
12. Ghosts of the Tsunami*
13. Empty Handed
14. Holding On
15. Vampire Town
16. House of Cards*
17. Doubts
18. Demons
19. Losing Touch
20. Monsters
21. Love Moves
22. Throwing Stones
23. Here Is the Place
*Isaac Howlett solo songs
