Whipcord

Gig Reviews

Academy Unsigned 263
Academy 3
13/03/08

Bloody hell, this was quite a show. Multiple types of distortion, sustain, feedback, powerful verging-on-possessed vocals, and all very very loud, this was not for the faint-hearted. After the full-on thrash and groovy higher bass line of ‘Great Perturber’ had blasted every eardrum as far as Stockport, you’d be forgiven for thinking they might then mellow a little. You’d be wrong.
Riffs were generally fairly straightforward and unpronounced (save the more obvious wah-y line in ‘Remain Beneath’) but the drive, unpredictability and sheer force of it all commanded my full attention. Drumming was strong and speedy throughout, creating unexpected tempo changes, and the overall effect was one of polished anarchy, not unlike The Who’s live shows.
My question now is ‘what would they be like on record?’ Everything about the live set was so huge it’s difficult to imagine just sitting listening to it at home. Whatever- on the basis of tonight’s performance, they should be gracing some much bigger stages before long.

8/10

Set list:

1. ‘Great Perturber’
2. ‘Ms Led’
3. ‘Stork’
4. ‘Remain Beneath’
5. ‘Cadywell’
6. ‘Chairy Hest’
7. ‘Quarentine You’
8. ‘My Shantung Skin’

Polly