HOWLER

Oct 31

[video]

‘Jordan Gatesmith of Howler throws out breakfast cereal into the crowd.’

NME Generation Next Tour: London

Last night the NME Generation Next Tour rolled into London’s KOKO and we were there to pick up the pieces…

GROSS MAGIC

We arrived just on time as Gross Magic took the stage. A band we didnt know much about but described by the NME as “Low, low, lo-fi distorted bliss with big, dumb, bubblegum four-chord-choruses”. The young Brighton 4 piece sound like a band who have been locked in a garage for years… but in a good way! Playing tunes from their first E.P Teen Jamz the sound was a throwback to the grunge bands of the 90’s with heavy distorted guitars, thrashed chords and incomprehensible vocals but with a bit of psychedelica thrown to try and bring some order out of the chaos. With the sound of guitar feedback echoing round the venue by the end it was a loud, brash start to the evening… Just what we were looking for!

THE CAST OF CHEERS

The Cast Of Cheers were up next, a band we had heard a lot about since the release of their debut album this summer but really wanted to see how it was all going to fit together and what they could bring to the table live. The Dublin group play a sort of mathsy dance rock so the easy comparison to make would be with Foals or Everything Everything. Although the sound is arguably pretty similar with angular guitar lines and crazy drum beats they sound like Foals if they let the handbrake off. Punching out song after song from their debut with little let up in their half hour set the crowd were quiet at first but it was hard not to get swept along with this wave of looped guitars and pounding bass. Dropping NME backed hits “Animals” and “Family” produced the biggest cheers of the night, we expect “everyone will know their name” this time next year.

HOWLER

Then we had the main event… Despite recently losing a member, Minneapolis quartet Howler went in hard with their brand of punk-rock n roll getting the young, partisan (and by the end sweaty) crowd jumping, clapping and moshing from start to finish. Playing through most of their debut album “America Give Up and throwing in a few new tracks in a frenetic 40 minute set each song was played with the distortion turned up to 11 and with tonnes of energy. Although the sound at times was a little off, when dropping single “Told You Once” and ending on the sing-along “Back of Your Neck” lead singer Jordan Gatesmith played the part of the punk frontman strutting his way round the stage, climbing amps, swigging wine from the bottle and taking his microphone down to play the last two songs from the pit causing as much carnage as possible. Overall the set was frantic but exactly what we expected from a band who look like they are building a big following here in the UK.