The Canterbury quartet celebrate a decade in the game!
The New Cross Inn may not be sold out tonight, but there is a friendly, community feel amongst the folks who’ve turned out for an evening of quality punk rock. In an ideal world, Spoilers would have become much more widely known and appreciated in their 10 years together (to date), but as things are, they’re undoubtedly and rightfully treasured by those in the know.
For a band whose music would make an ideal soundtrack to sleepless nights caused by the increasingly desperate state of our world, Dealing With Damage certainly look like they’re having a blast onstage. You’d swear that new-ish bassist Owen had been in the band since day one, so well does he gel with the others, pulling off ridiculously complicated licks with the greatest of ease. Album number three is in the works, and judging by today’s set, it should be another masterclass in melodic punk rock and post-hardcore. Superb.
To be labelled ‘pop-punk’ is a mixed blessing, given that the term’s been linked to horrifically saccharine, toothless bands (Good Charlotte and Simple Plan, we speak of thee) as well as those who have mastered the art of playing fast, melodic tunes with some actual bite.
Thankfully, Brighton quartet Making Friends are firmly in the latter camp; ripping through the likes of ‘ATM’ and ‘Happy Fucking Whatever’ in brilliantly scrappy style, barely pausing for breath between songs. ‘Planet Zoo’, in particular, reminds us of ‘Revolutions Per Minute’-era Rise Against (i.e. their prime), and boasts an awesome widdly guitar solo, so if that sounds like your bag, be sure to check out their ‘Fine Dying’ album.
Verse Chorus Inferno deserve kudos, not just for having come all the way from Italy, but also for their choice of name. Oh, and they sound great, too, infusing songs like ‘The Ballad Of Bill Gates’ (!) and ‘Fast Times in Den Haag’ with elements of bouncy power-pop and alt-rock. Oh, and they also do an ace cover of Face To Face’s ‘Disconnected’ into the bargain. Your listening homework is 2022’s fabulously titled ‘Flying A Delorean To 2007’ (can we come along for the ride?), most of which is so damn catchy it should be illegal.
Spoilers frontman Dan also plays bass for Snuff, so he’s probably sick of the comparisons, but it has to be said that his own band shares Duncan Redmonds’ crew’s knack for tunes that grab you by your frontal lobe and instantly draw you in. Imagine the likes of Husker Du, Midway Still, even a touch of early Green Day, all blended together and delivered in a style as unmistakably British as the mid-set Brexit/misery/pie-and-mash banter (trust us, you had to be there).
The band are clearly stoked to not just still be together after all these years, but also to be sounding so good and drawing a decent-sized crowd to boot. They rip through mini-anthems like ‘Peaches And Cream’ and ‘Thereabouts’ with obvious relish, and their enthusiasm is infectious, with crowd singalongs and fists in the air aplenty.
After heartfelt thanks, the adrenaline rush of the closing ‘Punks Don’t Die’ feels like a love letter to everyone present, and indeed, gigs like these are fine reminders that punk itself is in rude health – thank you very much. Cheers to Be Sharp Promotions for putting it all together, and congratulations to Spoilers on their tenth anniversary; here’s to the next ten!
Main Photo Credit: CLARE DOWSE
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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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