Sorority Noise at Sticky Mike's Frog Bar

Sticky Mike's

Hidden in the labyrinth lanes of Brighton lives the legendary Sticky Mikes Frog Bar, yep truly a place that lives up to its name - sticky. Coated in local art, projected fish tanks, and glissenings of a disco ball, the Frog Bar is a fitting place for the hipster settlers to spend their Friday night. Joining the InD inhabitants last Friday were the sounds of Muskets, Puppy, and Sorority Noise.

Muskets

Whilst upstairs is lit up in all its glory, the basement of Sticky Mike's is dim but atmospheric, with only the light of the bar guiding your way. Walking into the basement you were met by the loud noises of Muskets, a long haired local foursome. Singing songs with relentless angst, and an anger that didn't seem to have its place located, this quartet tore upstage with no break for an applause. With only one EP to their name, it's early days for Muskets. However, what ever impression they give from their recorded stuff, you best believe they're better live. Sounding like Blink 182 had a baby with The Wombats, they're a weird amalgamation of American pop-punk and English grunge that seems to work enough to keep the crowd more than entertained.

Puppy

Following Muskets, were the London based trio Puppy. Staying true to the rock theme of the evening, this threesome came at the crowd with heavy metal tunes that were as soft as newly born canine. Now weighed down by the two EPs under their belt, Puppy have established themselves as the love child of 80's metal bands nursed by Weezer. Sitting happily in the intersection musical genres, Puppy greeted the stage with handfuls of harmonised guitar solos, pummelling drums, and bass that melted your face off. Unceasingly beating their instruments, Puppy crafted their weird but wonderful indie metal cross over to a crowd that got as sweaty as they did.

Sorority Noise

The final band to grace the Sticky Mike's stage was the American foursome Sorority Noise. Headlining the night, the quartet definitely drew up the biggest hoard, and aimed to make the loudest noise. Easily categorised as your average Emo / pop-punk band, Sorority Noise make it hard to look past their four man set up and songs that infiltrate the theme of juvenile angst. However, once you see through their archetypal pop-punk aesthetics, you reach of the band's gooey core that aims to motivate their listeners past self-negation and lending a hand to those who suffer from depression. Their performance on the night intertwined both their Emo roots and honest discussion of manic-depression, paradoxically encouraging self-preservation as well as body thrashing moshing.

Listen Here:
Muskets / Soundcloud 
Puppy / Soundcloud
Sorority Noise / Soundcloud

Yuck at The Moth Club 2016

Yuck @ MothClub

In deepest, darkest Hackney Central is a pub that looks as plain as it gets, however once you go through the door that has a laminated 'entrance' sign on, it becomes clear this is a club like no other. With the club's history deep rooted in British military past  (MOTH standing for Memorable Order of Tin Hats) it's a surprise how well the club's original memorabilia complements the  glitter smothered ceiling and the gold shimmer curtains that drench the stage. It's a venue that is a must see to believe, suited and booted for any band that's going to create a good time and who will fill up the dancefloor, evidently Yuck suited the Moth Club down to a tee. With the launch of their newest album 'Stranger Things' on the day of their first gig at the Moth Club it comes as no surprise that they managed to fill floor with moshing indie kids, politely perched fans on the velvet sofas and the odd adolescent who seemingly had managed to sneak their way in (something im sure we've all done at some point).

Shark Dentist

Before Yuck hit the lit up stage, in all its shiny glory, were Shark Dentist. According to their facebok bio the band themselves harvested jellyfish in their childhood and until 2014 there was no such Shark Dentist. However, whilst their "history" and name, on paper, is laughable, any band who calls their genre of music 'sandwich metal' deserves some kind of recognition. The foursome's performance, simply put, encompasses their internet persona... frankly they don't give a shit and they are teeming with wit. Their setlist comprised of songs from their newest single 'Stranger' and the crowd favourite Cut Myself Shaving (as well as a few more), each song performed with the feral intensity of a wild animal and the angsty attitude of a pre-teen. With hilarity of their lyrics they combine the mundane with a rich sound that is anything but boring, unlike cutting yourself when shaving- it is this mixture of honesty and loud noises that make them so enjoyable. Watch this space.

Puppy

Following the delightful catawaul of Shark Dentist came another band with an animal themed title, Puppy.  Whilst the band aesthetically suit their syrupy sweet name, their music is quite the opposite, and it is for this reason that they are so surprisingly pleasing. Puppy's music is a creation of nuance heavy metal that takes the genre for a fast paced ride on the indie roller coaster, making them sound somewhat like Wheatus covering Metallica. However as strange as they sound, their live performance shows that there is method in the trio's madness, creating a sound that's unique but at the same is like having 80's classic rock blasted into your ears. On the night they performed music from their newest EP 'Forever' making for an evening of perfectly refined indie-metal ballads and a setlist built upon hammering drums, rough riffs and rambunctious harmonies all tied up neatly in a bow.

Yuck

It wasn't long before the headliner of the evening, Yuck, came on stage. The band entered the shimmering stage with a blaise presence whilst they were surrounded by glimmering tinsel curtains, which just asked the audience to glow and behold the ever cool foursome. Whilst the band's last two albums may have passed the music scene by, seeped within the shadows, their gradual release of new singles over both this month and the last Yuck have evidently been gathering more and more hype as this year progresses. Their growth in popularity, and support for new album 'Stranger Things' ,was represented by the abundance of fans who flooded the dance floor of the Moth Club on the 26th of February. Performing both classic Yuck hits such as Get Away and The Wall (the song the crowd insisted they played in between tunes) as well as their new stuff Hearts in Motion and Cannonball, Yuck merely excrete what it is to be a indie-grunge band in 2016.

The band finished the night with two more song's following their faux encore exit, giving one last chance for the crowd to get sweaty, before the start of the brilliantly selected DJ by the Moth Club. The night in general was just as glowing as the ceiling. And speaking of shiny, Yuck's shiny new album premiered yesterday and if you aren't listening it now than what are you doing?!

Gotta catch 'em all:
www.sharkdentist.bandcamp.com
www.puppytheband.com
www.yuckband.com