Two bands that blend punk and desert rock influences seamlessly!
The lesson that we take away from tonight’s gig is that The Bass Guitar Is Possessed And Must Be Exorcised. At least, we think that’s what both bands’ bassists are trying to do with their instruments; thrashing, thumping and generally giving them merry hell throughout their sets. Hey, we’re not complaining – it makes for some thrilling performances and great songs too.
We certainly won’t forget Bones Ate Arfa in a hurry. Shortly after their set begins, their drummer takes a wander into the crowd to play his cowbell unaccompanied; it turns out to be the calm before the storm, before another barrage of huge riffs blasted out with pure punk rock velocity. One of their songs sounds a bit like the evil cousin of the Foo Fighters’ ‘Times Like These’, but this trio have much more in common with Dave Grohl’s former band.
Towards the end of their set, I badly need to pee, but the likes of ‘Akimbo People’ and the closing ‘It’s All Good’ are way too good to miss, and hence my bladder’s pain proves to be my ears’ gain. They’re playing a free gig at London’s Old Blue Last on 8th December – join us if you can, and you won;’t be disappointed.
Mind you, if it’s truly thunderous, bass-driven riffs you’re after, then Dead Air are your men for the job. Seriously, we’re talking ones that the giants of desert rock (yep, QOTSA, Kyuss, Fu Manchu et al) would probably kick themselves for not having written. The faster and louder they go, the more devastating the impact, so it’s no great surprise when a mid-set blast through ‘Do It For The Pay’ ignites a frenzied pit into action.
Onstage, things aren’t any more sedate; vocalist/bassist Reuben remains a sweat-drenched whirlwind of energy, and he’s got seriously heavyweight back-up in his bandmates’ powerhouse drumming and nimble-fingered guitar work. Since we last saw them, the trio have released a couple of ace new tracks in ‘Black Flag’ and ‘Fast Food World’ and they finish with the latter, taking no prisoners in the process.
You get the feeling that venues this small won’t be enough to contain Dead Air for much longer, and we’d love to see them take on an Academy-size stage. The start of something big? With performances like tonight’s, we wouldn’t bet against it.
All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
Follow Dead Air on Their Socials:
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Exclusive – video premiere of Gypsy Pistoleros’ new single ‘King of Almost Everything’
The third single from Gypsy Pistoleros’ forthcoming new album, ‘Dark Faerie Tales’, ‘King of Almost Everything’ arrives with a brand-new video. A savage, cinematic takedown
Album Review: King Goon’s sophomore ‘Oh My!’
Describing themselves as a six-piece punk rock band with a bad ska habit, King Goon are based in South Wales. Now they are back with
Album review – the hard rocking debut by Monkeys Blood – ‘Anthropoid’
What do you get when three lads from several top Northeast English punk bands get together? A new, even wilder punk group named after a
Album Review : Good Riddance scratch that 7-year itch, and release a brand-new record
Based out of Santa Cruz in California (USA), Good Riddance are no strangers to the melodic punk scene, and over the decades, they have more
Live review: Top Dogs hit the The Underworld!
Friday 3rd April saw Jolly Roger and I catch UK punk rock’s rising stars Split Dogs, on their ‘Boogie Till You Puke’ tour at The
Shooting Daggers, London Blue Monk, 4th April 2026
Ah, Shooting Daggers, what can we say about you that we haven’t said before? As ever, Sal and co play a tight, vitriolic set that
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.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
