Words and Photos: RBY
It’s a Monday night but the turnout for a hardcore punk set of bands is large. The small cafe come venue Guac n Roll is packed and its for good reason. The lineup is pretty stellar and we are treated to a fantastic show of insistent noise, a constant blur of motion and a happy release of energy.
The bands play up against the side wall in Guac n Roll, the crowd huddle around them and its a great way to get a intimate, involved audience. You are in the band in some ways and some of the audience are.
Spiteful Void open the night with their metallic sheen on hardcore punk. Members of the band run the cafe or are fixtures of the scene and they are deservedly popular. 30 odd minutes of growling sincere music that is honest, refreshing, a bit insane in the best way and very very good. Solid bass and guitar and very noticeably excellent drums that are simultaneously controlled and wild as hell, back up the vocalist as he propels himself around the stage area and then throws himself to the floor. Deep and serious messages are contained in the growling but also they are vastly entertaining and seriously good. They also have an album out, links below.
Better Reality hit it up with a blistering set of hard and fast noise. Fucking irrepressible vocals and buzzsaw guitar and bass are held up by constant a hard hitting drum performance. Full throttle and unremitting and like Spiteful Void before them allow a hard hitting vocal that seems to have no let up and must surely in the great heat in Guac n Roll be an effort to sustain.
Then Swedish band Sex Dwarf take to the stage. Fuck they are good. A blurry hard edged rhythm section with occasion forays into a more washed out almost heavy psych sound with a very sharp edge. Vocals drowned in reverb and echo yet still punchy and direct and swamp us throughout their highly charged and extremely dynamic set. A noticeable cover of Soft Cells Say Hello Wave Goodbye that is completely changed by the bands hardcore take on it but still recognisable is a highlight (ffs its a great song whatever your musical taste) and it goes down well.
Mexicans Mess with their Blitz leanings and melodic fast paced songs deliver over 20 tracks of pure bliss (I lost count of how many). We even get guitar solos and waves of musical light and shade. Its not straight Oi, its not many things but it is outstandingly well delivered and they sound unique and of themselves. The band look to be enjoying themselves and compliment the venue for the great turnout on a Monday and the crowd repay this with shouting and chanting along all the way through their set. Deservedly well received.
Its a noticeably good gig with no weak links and as Guac n Roll are trying to expand and take over the whole building with a stated aim to put on better gigs like this we include their fundraiser in the links below. More of this please.
Links:
Mess: FACEBOOK | BANDCAMP | INSTAGRAM
Sex Dwarf: BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK
Better Reality: BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK
Spiteful Void: BANDCAMP
Guac n Roll: FACEBOOK | GO FUND ME