Our favourite Manchester trio return with a set full of surprises!
This evening is a very busy one for gigs; it seems like promoters of just about every genre from hardcore to rock n’ roll are hosting a pre-Xmas bash of some kind in north London alone. But we’ve chosen to haul arse to Hackney this evening, and for good reason. We missed Manchester trio Aerial Salad on their UK tour back in June, but having enjoyed (and reviewed) this year’s ace ‘Roi De L’Herbe’ EP, we absolutely needed to catch up with them at some point. So cheers to them for doing these couple of dates, including one at the delightfully tiny Blondies.
The riffs of ‘Dog grind slow, but they grind small. Ok, that’s some pretty awful wordplay, even for me. Anyway, it’s not completely true; Brighton trio City Dog aren’t averse to speeding up a bit from time to time. There must be something in the water of Brighton, though, because the city seems to be spewing forth a new crop of quality riff merchants – we saw Bones Ate Arfa a few days ago, and now these guys. The likes of ‘I Might Die’ and the closing ‘Burn The Witch’ are replete with barked vocals and shades of a Helmet-esque metallic attack, and are played with remarkable confidence for a new-ish band. Ones to watch, for sure.
Aerial Salad have serious balls. How else to explain them dropping a whopping six new songs into their set this evening? It soon becomes clear, though, that the trio are on a red-hot songwriting streak; mixing pop-punk, post punk and the odd tip of the hat to that famed Madchester sound, with superb results. Elsewhere, the adrenalised burst of ‘My Girl’ and the bouncy groove of ‘King Of The Grass’ can’t fail to raise smiles and cheers of recognition.
Oh, and they’re clearly stoked to be here, with some serious Duracell bunny action from drummer Jake, and co-vocalists Jamie and Mike gleefully thrashing away at their guitars throughout. Jamie, in particular, can’t stay still – when he’s not playing his guitar, he’s waving his hands around as if doing some kind of punk rock t’ai chi or occasionally throttling his mic stand. He’s probably a nightmare to sit next to on the 5-odd hour drive down from Manchester, but tonight it just adds to the sense of fun and intimacy. There’s some serious musical telepathy going on with these guys, and it makes for a thrilling set.
Late contenders for our 2025 award for Most Fun Had Whilst Playing? We think so, and on the strength of those new songs, hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for that new album. Merry Christmas, guys, and see you next year!
All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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