Lending Room, Leeds 9th July 2026
Superbly full-sounding classic stomping and crunchy country-rock set more than fulfilled expectations in a small venue in Leeds. Rocking hard and emoting all over the minor chords, this was a moving gig.
A niche band of the nineties, the core duo of Monica Queen and Johnny Smillie never shoved the door of fame open like they hoped but left some fond memories. With a few projects over the years, Thrum was parked until an uber-fan encouraged them into a revival and what a revival! The recent reissue of their debut, ‘Rifferama’ was slightly overshadowed by the accompanying live disc from Autumn 2025, which had a raw energy to it that set it alight. So too, tonight.
Having recruited an excellent band, the band feel able to stretch and dig into tunes, spreading 15 songs over an hour and three-quarters. With illustrative piano or propulsively swelling organ from the excellent keyboard player and solid drums and bass, Queen and Smillie went beyond their youthful templates into sad-tinged colours and hard rocking. Monica is definitely the boss; posing and psyching to the intro music before leading the band through the opening ‘What Can I Say’ and ‘Purify’ with her vulnerable yet soulful voice. Cueing other members in and playfully teasing Johnny over his face-covering cap, she warms her voice up and into a rock queen, able to belt out full-on and yet to drop to an emotional flutter. That warm up switch into ‘Lullaby’ also sees Johnny Smillie going into Neil Young mode with ‘Danger Bird’ style chords and plenty of crunchy notes and riffs.
There is a playful aspect, with the piano interjecting during guitar tuning sessions (it’s very hot) and Monica making a point of seeking eye contact and interaction with every band member. She chats to the audience too, explaining that she’s laid out battered and well-loved album covers behind her to show childhood influences. Running from Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole and Mahalia Jackson to Jimi Hendrix and the smoother than smooth Sinatra/Jobim collaboration, it’s a hoard of soulful noises. For ‘Hey Joe’ (not that one), Smillie brings out his Gibson Les Paul with a Bigsby vibrato fitted. It’s a copy of Neil Young’s main guitar and he wears his influence happily, going on to stomp slowly foot to foot as he rips lengthy solos. But they are solos that work because of Queen’s crunchy rhythm guitar. This is a band that plays together as a unit and, as the show progresses, songs fuse into huge slices of pure rock in a minor key. It’s a hell of a show. Loud, heartfelt, yearning, a little sad, air-punchingly powerful.
Closing with a grungey-slow ‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’, the band leave Leeds wondering when they’ll be round next. Do please check out the re-release of Rifferama with the live tracks.
Words: Ross McGibbon
Pictures: Justin Leeming Insta: @jglcreate
