Photo: Michael Lee Jamison
Emerging onto the scene in 2013, complete with more teenage angst than a mid-noughties skate park and a £3 bottle of cider, the Loveless brothers drew fans in with their brand of bleak garage grunge.
Two years on and boasting two albums, the Derbyshire duo still know how to get a room of teens moving but is that enough?
Kicking things off with ‘Running Wild’, the tone for the teen-heavy crowd is immediately set. A track that would not look out of place on an early Nirvana LP sees a variety of flailing limbs and flying beer obscure many views as the visceral wall of sound fills the venue. The most notable change for Drenge, which has come about since the release of their second LP, Undertow, is the inclusion of a bassist, Rob Graham.
Adding more depth whilst keeping the raw sound of the band intact seems like a great idea and away from the music it certainly makes singer Eoin look more comfortable on stage.
.jpg)
As the set thunders on, new is well mixed with old. Tracks from their self-titled debut album like ‘I Wanna Break You in Half’ and the ferocious ‘Face Like A Skull’ are notable highlights and whilst the fresher songs are still draped in violent imagery backed by thunderous guitar riffs, tracks like ‘The Snake’ and ‘Never Awake’ show the mature progression of the twenty-something Loveless brothers. Whilst ‘We Can Do What We Want’ has the potential to be a grunge-pop anthem, it somehow gets lost in the moment as opposed to penultimate track and stoner-singalong ‘Fuckabout.’
The change of pace is a welcome one and as enthusiastic teens clamber over each other to get in on the action it becomes apparent that Drenge still have a rightful place amongst the wave of new British rock acts.
.jpg)
Drenge played:
Running Wild
Side By Side
Gun Crazy
Nothing
The Snake
Backwaters
We Can Do What We Want
I Wanna Break You In Half
Bloodsports
Favourite Son
Standing In the Cold
Undertow
Never Awake
Face Like a Skull
Fuckabout
Let's Pretend
.jpg)
.jpg)
