Reviewing music isn’t about blagging fee stuff – it’s about music, and any free stuff is a bonus. Which means sometimes, I’d actually rather pay to go to see bands play and support the scene and the artists. The fact local booker / promoter Please Please You puts on shows of this calibre in York out of his own pocket is a big deal: it doesn’t just deserve commendation, but actual support. So it was pleasing to see Drag City band Dope Body, over in the UK from Baltimore, had drawn a respectable crowd. And deservedly so.
That said, a fair few were down to witness the squalling blast of sound that is Blacklisters. A week ahead of the release of their second album, the Leeds foursome demonstrate precisely why they’ve made a fairly rapid ascent from being an emerging act to one of the north’s premier purveyors of US-influenced noise a la The Jesus Lizard and Shellac. They’re open and proud of those influences, too: tonight, they can be seen sporting Big Black, Pissed Jeans and ZU T-shirts. Blasting straight into a dense and thoroughly pounding rendition of ‘Shirts;, they power through a nine-sing set culled largely from the new album ‘Adult.’ There isn’t a duff track, and they’re as tight as fuck. Of course, no Blacklisters set is complete without ‘Trick Fuck’, and that grinding riff is certainly done justice on this outing.
The only trouble with following Blacklisters is that, well, you’re following Blacklisters, and the first thing that’s apparent is that however awesome Dope Body are, their manic aural assault doesn’t have nearly as much groove as the support.
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Still, they compensate in other ways, and they certainly put the noise in noise rock, with spasmodic, sinewy guitars twisting over choppy, jolting basslines and heavy-duty percussion. Andrew Laumann is a lean, wiry and extremely vascular man who pours everything he’s got into his performance. At times, the performance teeters on the brink of posturing, but there’s no question of the band’s commitment to laying waste to this intimate venue.
After the relative accessibility of 2014’s ‘Lifer’, their new album, ‘Kunk’ is challenging and intense in equal measure, so this was always going to be an interesting set, and indeed it was. Driven by a raw energy and endless mobility, there was pint spillage and more, and while the performance style bordered on confrontational, things remained pleasant and friendly, and band and audience alike shed copious sweat.
Intense and enjoyable would be the adjectives of choice for summarising the evening, and Dope Body were a rare treat. If only they hadn’t had to follow Blacklisters…
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