Went to catch The Soft Moon at Brudenell Social Club yesterday despite my bangin sore throat induced by wisdom tooth pain and the fact that the side of my face was swollen as heck. Waited in the rain for half an hour for the cab to arrive and when I finally got there, thinking I was late, I was quite disappointed to see that the venue wasn’t packed out. The excuse that it’s a Sunday night just doesn’t cut it. This is THE SOFT MOON we are talking about here – probably the best band of our time that captures that entire post-punk era of the 80s to perfection. The fact that most people still haven’t heard of em is a fucking crime.
That is not to say, they are mere revivalists with no sense of originality. Every band has their own influences – these guys push it a few bars higher with a new updated sense of urgency, while still staying true to the definitive post-punk “sound”.
The gig opened with Dracula Lewis – the name “Dracula” derived from the fact that he was born in Transylvania. It’s a very fascinating set that reminds me of White Car , though less psychotic and more pained. Through the pounding synthesized drum beat and effects-heavy keys, swirling in smoke like an omen stepping out of a dream , he screams, growls and makes weird crying sounds, only to end his set abruptly, as though just as you were about the escape from your nightmarish hallucination, you have suddenly awakened.
[Dracula Lewis - U$E YOUR ILLU$ION$]
It didn’t take long for the Soft Moon to come on afterwards.
They played material from their self-titled first release, Total Decay as well as new material from Zeros – the latter of which was the point of this tour. From the moment the drummer started, the coldness of that synthed-out snare-clash sound that sounds almost similar to the drums in Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control – the crowd in the room started to get excited. You could tell because they started edging closer towards the stage, bodies started moving, annoying know-it-all fucking hecklers started heckling.
My hair stood on end hearing and watching Parallels played out live in front of me. Luis didn’t talk much in between songs, so there was this strange disquieting aura about the whole thing – an achievement. Kept people uneasy. I liked it.
[The Soft Moon - Insides]
[The Soft Moon - When Its Over]
[The Soft Moon - Total Decay]
Just to have those cold, dark paranoid soundscapes washing all over me last night was enough to give me a delirious anxiety attack – I like it, keeps me on the edge. My only complaint would be that the guitars and bass should have been louder.
After the show, I asked the door person if I could have one of the posters on the walls that the Brudenell used to promote the show. She said yeah, go for it. Then I bought a The Soft Moon t-shirt, stared lovingly at the limited edition signed poster that I couldn’t afford and went on my way home.
>> View The Rest Of The Shots Here <<
Buy the new album Zeros and other earlier releases by The Soft Moon here.
Buy The Soft Moon merch here.
Upcoming UK Shows
- 11-26 MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – RUBY LOUNGE
- 11-27 BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – HARE AND HOUNDS
- 11-28 BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – GREENSTORE
2 comments
Alternative music blogs in Leeds – are they on the rise? | Bowers says:
Feb 26, 2013
[...] for music in your head. Combine that with photography that even David Bailey would be proud of. This review of The Soft Moon at Brudenell demonstrates the qualities that Bad Fotography has in that it represents it’s [...]
Music blogs | Journalism at Leeds Metropolitan says:
May 3, 2013
[...] passion for music. Combine that with photography that even David Bailey would be proud of. This review of The Soft Moon at Brudenell demonstrates the qualities that Bad Fotography has in that it represents its [...]