The Irrelevants

Punk three-piece with rock elements

Gig Reviews

Academy Unsigned
Academy 3
17/01/08

With their effective use of power chords, rocking drums and impassioned vocals, The Irrelevants succeeded in generating a convincing, solid, punky sense of defiance and confidence. ‘Cheer Up’ would make an awesome wake-up call (definitely of the ‘kick-in-the-nuts’ variety rather than the ‘gently-ease-you-out-of-the-blue’ type), ‘May 29th’ captured the happy-punk spirit of Blink 182 and the choppier chords and riotous feel of ‘Hung-over Again’ made for a well-crafted, rockier piece. But one of the surprise highlights of the night was their hilarious ‘Scandinavian rock’ take on ‘Barbie Girl’. It received rapturous applause from even the most reserved audience members, and the good-humoured vein continued to good effect with the teenage-angst lyrics of ‘She’s Got A Boyfriend’. A couple of tracks featured guitar solos, but while these were very decent they would have benefitted from a less clean, sparse sound. This is a minor point, however, and certainly didn’t detract from the overall standard. If this is your thing you’ll love them.

8/10

Set list:

1. ‘Geek’
2. ‘Punk and Anarchy”
3. ‘Cheer Up’
4. ‘Terminally Bored’
5. ‘Borange’
6. ‘Dead or Alive’
7. ‘First Steps to a Better Life’
8. ‘May 29th’
9. ‘Barbie Girl’
10. ‘She’s Got A Boyfriend’
11. ‘Hungover Again’
12. ‘Wasted Mind’

Polly