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Cole Becker - SWMRS
Thekla, Bristol
07/09/2016
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With wallets getting
emptier and pay packs getting smaller our industry is constantly coming up with
new ways of making live music more accessible to more people and recently
co-headline deals and multi-name line-ups have proved to be a pretty genius way
of doing it.
As those line-ups go, it doesn’t get more exciting than
Brawlers, Dead! and SWMRS, on a boat no less, and that’s exactly what happened
at Bristol’s Thekla on September 7th.
If the crowd thought that they were in for an easy ride with
Brawlers, well that would make them wrong. Their set was a montage of everything
a band could possibly get a crowd to do.
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Harry Johns - Brawlers
Thekla, Bristol
07/09/2016
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- · Wall of death under strict instructions NOT to mosh or “any of that shit”? Yep.
- · Crowd running rings around a horizontal Harry Johns? That too.
- · Trust-falling from the balcony? You bet.
- · Having everybody run from one side of the boat to the other in an attempt to literally rock it. Of course that happened.
The recklessness in the pit was well and truly matched on
stage with an emblematic energy that lastedDay
Job, from this year’s The Black EP, is
a solid choice. Coincidentally that track really touches a nerve at Louder Now
HQ right now.
all night long. If you’re looking
for a place to start with these guys,
It’s safe to say that few have had a better year than Dead!
Arguably the best young band on the planet, and without a doubt the most hyped,
the London four-piece can’t seem to put a foot wrong. But guys, the hype is
real, Dead! ARE unbelievably exciting.
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Alex Mountford -Dead!
Thekla, Bristol
07/09/2016
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After smashing their way through a fair few festivals this
summer (a couple of which we caught)
Dead! were ready to bring their assured
aesthetic back indoors. From the lamps and flower bunches on stage to the unabashed
nature of their raucous tunes, I can get on board with every aspect of this
band.
You’re So Cheap, released
earlier this year, has quickly and justly become a firm crowd-pleaser but
latest track Something More Original confirmed
that Dead! are only getting better and at this rate it won’t be long until they
run this scene. You can watch the new video for Something More Original right here.
But the celebration of sheer young talent did not end there.
SWMRS vocalist and guitarist, Cole Becker turned 21 just yesterday (Happy
Birthday Cole!) but the bands list of achievements looks more like that of an
act 21-years into their career.
SWMRS have also hit up their fair share of festivals this
summer as well as recording a live session for Annie Mac’s Radio One Show, performing
live for Zane Lowe’s Beat 1 show in LA and releasing their debut album Drive North in February on their very
own label, Uncool Records.
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SWMRS
Thekla, Bristol
07/09/2016
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Their whole set screamed California punk, a distinctiveness
that SWMRS have whole heartedly embraced bringing all of the verve and raw edge
that comes with it through to their set. Debut single Miley is as punk-rock-anthem as they come and newly released track Figuring It Out has had crowds
woah-oh-ing their hearts out on both sides of the Atlantic.
For a line-up of bands that are still in the early stages of
their anticipative careers there was a remarkable amount of talent on the
stage. The night felt like one that this crowd will be bringing up for years to
come, when these bands are heading up main stages and touring arena’s we’ll
always remember the night we saw them on a boat in Bristol.
All images taken by Lauren-Alice Photography - thank you Lauren!
