Live at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club, 15th March 2019
They might be named for an unlikeable American beer – Pabst Blue Ribbon – but they can’t be faulted for their energy and that will be what caught Bob Mould’s eye and got him to invite them to open for his European tour. The ex-Husker Du and Sugar legend has spent much of the last three years in Berlin, where this power trio has caught his eye. There is a nice stack of pop hooks to the power play and the energy is in thrall to the power of a simple tuneful chorus.
Only a trio and full of the buzz a small band can generate, there is a physical surge to many of the songs in their short set. Relatively straight ahead rock of the sort that evolved from grunge; the drums pound along nicely with energy and bounce providing a foil to the bass and guitar. The bassist is all over the place, shaking his mop of hair, doubling up, crouching down, tightly focused throughout and whilst the guitarist is tied to his stand by being the vocalist, he breaks free sometimes to throw his guitar bodily around, even decamping to the floor amongst the audience.
This band really put some energy into the visual as well as the musical performance. Sometimes they like to milk the feedback, standing or crouching in front of the amps and the finale involves rolling on the floor, pressing the pedals and working a cacophony of sound. It’s not easy being a support band, when everyone is there to hear Bob Mould but this was a spectacle and impressed the audience.
