A day on from Hevy Fest the London Punk fan has a wealth of choice on this Sunday night. Downstairs hardcore originators Agnostic Front play to the postcard punk brigade, while upstairs something a little different is brewing.
The evening is kicked off by Employed To Serve (7) whose noise rock is nearly as impressive as it is startling. Hearing a youthful female, like front lady Justine Jones, scream with such venom is a welcome rarity.
In Archives (5) have less to make them stand out. In fact if you were to close your eyes it would be impossible to pick them out of a line up of many of their peers. They could be Heights, or Black Dogs or… well, you get the idea. A good band, but one without their own identity.
It’s an accusation that could never be thrown at Palm Reader (9), quite why a young British band that are this good have been ignored by the world at large for so long is unclear. But, whatever the reason, it’s totally unjust. Tonight they preview a handful of new songs, alongside old favourites from last year’s superb Bad Weather album, that more than whet the appetite for record number two. They’ve got tighter, more focused and even more savage. This is a band to be feared and revered in equal measure, and the way they decimate the crowd means they’re unlikely to be such a well kept secret for too long.
Unlike Palm Reader, the secret is definitely out when it comes to Baby Godzilla (9). Already their live shows are passing into legend and it’s fairly easy to see why. They appear to have absolutely no regard for their own, or anyone else’s, personal safety and delight in destroying anything they can lay their hands on. If the Gremlins took loads of coke and decided to form a band this could well be the result. Yeah it’s true that the music just disintegrates amongst their building trashing antics on occasions, but when you’ve got a member of the band in each corner of the venue wildly flailing, screaming and hanging from anything they can drag, climb or scale themselves on to its totally understandable. And when they do click you can see that this is a very talented group of musicians. This is utter chaos… with tunes.
Josh Scogin knows a thing or two about chaos. As the original frontman of Norma Jean and the driving force of The Chariot he has been responsible for some of the most bewildering and manic live performances ever. His new band 68 (6) have released one of the most interesting and unique albums of the year in In Humour And Sadness and anticipation for their arrival is palpable.
What a shame then that this is a massive let down. The two piece amble on late and are besieged by sound and technical issues that Scogin obviously cannot hide his frustration with. He spends much of the opening twenty minutes of the set with his back to the audience thrashing out the same chord, severely testing the patience of even the most committed fan. This carpet bombing of momentum has a catastrophic impact when the band do finally conquer the sound demons and excellent versions of much of the albums stand out tracks, like the particularly vicious R, showcase a duo with a unique perspective and some truly stunning ideas on how to craft music. But by this point a crowd pumped up by Palm Reader and Baby Godzilla are visibly deflated. What a shame. Fine band, bad night.
The evening is kicked off by Employed To Serve (7) whose noise rock is nearly as impressive as it is startling. Hearing a youthful female, like front lady Justine Jones, scream with such venom is a welcome rarity.
In Archives (5) have less to make them stand out. In fact if you were to close your eyes it would be impossible to pick them out of a line up of many of their peers. They could be Heights, or Black Dogs or… well, you get the idea. A good band, but one without their own identity.
It’s an accusation that could never be thrown at Palm Reader (9), quite why a young British band that are this good have been ignored by the world at large for so long is unclear. But, whatever the reason, it’s totally unjust. Tonight they preview a handful of new songs, alongside old favourites from last year’s superb Bad Weather album, that more than whet the appetite for record number two. They’ve got tighter, more focused and even more savage. This is a band to be feared and revered in equal measure, and the way they decimate the crowd means they’re unlikely to be such a well kept secret for too long.
Unlike Palm Reader, the secret is definitely out when it comes to Baby Godzilla (9). Already their live shows are passing into legend and it’s fairly easy to see why. They appear to have absolutely no regard for their own, or anyone else’s, personal safety and delight in destroying anything they can lay their hands on. If the Gremlins took loads of coke and decided to form a band this could well be the result. Yeah it’s true that the music just disintegrates amongst their building trashing antics on occasions, but when you’ve got a member of the band in each corner of the venue wildly flailing, screaming and hanging from anything they can drag, climb or scale themselves on to its totally understandable. And when they do click you can see that this is a very talented group of musicians. This is utter chaos… with tunes.
Josh Scogin knows a thing or two about chaos. As the original frontman of Norma Jean and the driving force of The Chariot he has been responsible for some of the most bewildering and manic live performances ever. His new band 68 (6) have released one of the most interesting and unique albums of the year in In Humour And Sadness and anticipation for their arrival is palpable.
What a shame then that this is a massive let down. The two-piece amble on late and are besieged by sound and technical issues that Scogin obviously cannot hide his frustration with. He spends much of the opening twenty minutes of the set with his back to the audience thrashing out the same chord, severely testing the patience of even the most committed fan. This carpet bombing of momentum has a catastrophic impact when the band do finally conquer the sound demons and excellent versions of much of the albums stand out tracks, like the particularly vicious R, showcase a duo with a unique perspective and some truly stunning ideas on how to craft music. But by this point a crowd pumped up by Palm Reader and Baby Godzilla are visibly deflated. What a shame. Fine band, bad night.
The evening is kicked off by Employed To Serve (7) whose noise rock is nearly as impressive as it is startling. Hearing a youthful female, like front lady Justine Jones, scream with such venom is a welcome rarity.
In Archives (5) have less to make them stand out. In fact if you were to close your eyes it would be impossible to pick them out of a line up of many of their peers. They could be Heights, or Black Dogs or… well, you get the idea. A good band, but one without their own identity.
It’s an accusation that could never be thrown at Palm Reader (9), quite why a young British band that are this good have been ignored by the world at large for so long is unclear. But, whatever the reason, it’s totally unjust. Tonight they preview a handful of new songs, alongside old favourites from last year’s superb Bad Weather album, that more than whet the appetite for record number two. They’ve got tighter, more focused and even more savage. This is a band to be feared and revered in equal measure, and the way they decimate the crowd means they’re unlikely to be such a well kept secret for too long.
Unlike Palm Reader, the secret is definitely out when it comes to Baby Godzilla (9). Already their live shows are passing into legend and it’s fairly easy to see why. They appear to have absolutely no regard for their own, or anyone else’s, personal safety and delight in destroying anything they can lay their hands on. If the Gremlins took loads of coke and decided to form a band this could well be the result. Yeah it’s true that the music just disintegrates amongst their building trashing antics on occasions, but when you’ve got a member of the band in each corner of the venue wildly flailing, screaming and hanging from anything they can drag, climb or scale themselves on to its totally understandable. And when they do click you can see that this is a very talented group of musicians. This is utter chaos… with tunes.
Josh Scogin knows a thing or two about chaos. As the original frontman of Norma Jean and the driving force of The Chariot he has been responsible for some of the most bewildering and manic live performances ever. His new band 68 (6) have released one of the most interesting and unique albums of the year in In Humour And Sadness and anticipation for their arrival is palpable.
What a shame then that this is a massive let down. The two piece amble on late and are besieged by sound and technical issues that Scogin obviously cannot hide his frustration with. He spends much of the opening twenty minutes of the set with his back to the audience thrashing out the same chord, severely testing the patience of even the most committed fan. This carpet bombing of momentum has a catastrophic impact when the band do finally conquer the sound demons and excellent versions of much of the albums stand out tracks, like the particularly vicious R, showcase a duo with a unique perspective and some truly stunning ideas on how to craft music. But by this point a crowd pumped up by Palm Reader and Baby Godzilla are visibly deflated. What a shame. Fine band, bad night.
