Outpost is packed, there’s people queuing for beer and pizza and most of them are making their way into the small gig room at the back where a mere fiver gets you access to some fine fine bands.
Last time I saw Puzzle they were in the form of an acoustic duo playing Lovelocks cafe. First time I’ve seen them as a band in years. They fit into pop-punk or maybe Indie if you will, genre definitions. It’s at the janglier end of pop punk. There’s still fast chords flying out of the guitar amp, hyperactive drums and loud thudding bass lines on top of which float some melodic vocals. There’s a wistfulness about their music and they are willing to let their tuneful side fly. Hopefully not so many years before I see these again.
Code Break are getting louder and more brutal sounding every time I see them. They are well served by having gods own drummer who’s machine gun delivery provides a great foundation for their hardcore sound. They explore their sonic environment though, its not all rushed at full speed like a lot of their contemporaries but rather they build up their songs with repeated motifs and a way with songs that starts to get under the listener’s skin until they hook you in with the sheer enormity of their sound.
Not seen Coughin’ Vicars before but kept hearing good things about them. If anything the hype is understated. After a short start with one of their vocalists delivering a rock n roll sermon the band suddenly leap out in full flight. Its a bit breathtaking to see and hear and well, feel. These are a riot of movement and sound, it’s so rapid it can be hard to tell where the noise and the bodies begin and end. Yet in the chaos the musicianship is tight, fluid and almost at odds with the on stage randomness. Amps are scaled, bodies are thrown (throw themselves?) to the floor, the audience is invaded repeatedly and some great loud tunes bang out of backline and PA.
In the bar the beer queues have to die down, even if the venue wasn’t shutting for the night it’d have to, there’s very little ale left to sell as its all been drunk.
Words: Richie Yates, Photos: Adrian Wharton / Richie Yates
Links:
Puzzle
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PuzzleLiverpool
Code Break
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CodeBreak138
Bandcamp: https://codebreak.bandcamp.com
Coughin’ Vicars
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coughinvicars
Album available at Rough Trade: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/coughin-vicars/ritual-discipline
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