2 Oct 2017

Silent Radio say some words about Liverpool Psych Fest


It reads:

GNOD
Things are about to get nasty. GNOD take over in District, menacingly preparing their instruments to inflict full damage. For a while I felt their music has lived by their name – Got No Obvious Direction – and I struggled to enjoy what they were producing until the latest album. I’ve seen them support at gigs a few times and they’ve left me perplexed; repetitive beats and noises failed to maintain interest as they paraded around the stage in bizarre budget costumes, as if performing some sort of religious cult ceremony. ‘Just Say No To The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine’ changed all that, connecting with me on a political level as well as containing more musical sustenance.

They start tonight by jamming a ferocious beat accompanied by a wall of guitar sound that bubbles with sinister intent, but fails over time to explode into the kind of hedonistic and eye-opening mayhem that is promised. The diminutive singer would generally cut a less threatening figure than the rest of the band were it not for his over-sized Parka that has a huge fur-lined hood, and his incoherent wails and manic gesturing. The violent thrashing of instrument around him would cause ears to bleed if the amps were any more powerful. The last two songs are easier to make out and are much the better for it – ‘Paper Error’ and highlight ‘Bodies For Money’ ignite the mosh-pit, releasing 30 minutes worth of pent-up energy and frustration. Maybe that was the idea all along? “You can keep your ****ing money”. It was certainly an unforgettable performance, for all the right reasons.

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs 
…the evenings chaos, kicking off with Newcastle’s Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. Think of them as GNOD-lite. The lead singer is becoming agitated with the sound engineer and his shirt is off before we’ve started. Matt Baty stomps around like a demonically possessed version of Future Island’s Samuel T Herring. The queue outside runs far up the road for this, and those who managed to get inside aren’t disappointed.

Read the full review here: Silent Radio

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