“What you get is what you give, and what you give is not enough.“
Report and photos by Anton Smeeton, contact Anton prior to any image use.
Strawberry Lace
Falling somewhere between the mellow psych rock of Khraungbin, the energetic prog of Chon and the sunwashed emo of Turnover, Strawberry Lace bring their unique sound and airtight rhythm section to Hackney, instantly winning over the crowd. Hypnotic percussion washes the tension straight out of the room. Their grooves are dialled in and their jams that don’t overstay their welcome. They also provided an unexpected but entirely brilliant rendition of The Prodigy’s “Breathe“, sealing the deal and setting the night off to a fiery start.
Love Rarely
Fresh off the back of their headline debut and a run with Sweet Pill, Love Rarely were up next, bringing their mathy post hardcore sound to Oslo. They evoke the frenetic energy of The Fall of Troy, the dissonance of Rolo Tomassi and the angular emotion of Circa Survive. It was a short, sharp set of songs that dripped with yearning, and vocalist Courtney Levvit alternated between soaring cleans and desperate screams. The Leeds five pieces potential is obvious and demands attention.
Hail the Sun
From the moment the house lights dimmed and Hail The Sun took to the stage, they had the audience in the palm of their hand. The atmosphere is electric as a sold out Oslo screamed back every line of their career-spanning set in perfect harmony with Donovan Melero’s stadium-filling vocals. They even matched him word for word on newest single “The Drooling Class” which was only a few weeks old. The crowd’s attachment to the band and their theatrical brand of post hardcore was obvious. With shows like this it seems like only a matter of time till they take their proper status alongside scene leaders, packing out academies and beyond in the UK.
Check out our reviews of Hail the Sun and Love Rarely.