- Went to see Lawful Killing, TS Warspite and Bulls Shit tonight in London. The first two bands are both London hardcore bands who are part of the premier UKHC label of the past decade, Quality Control. I don’t really think I’d feel in any way attached to UKHC if it wasn’t for the output of Ola and Quality Control. Ola’s impact on culture, forget just hardcore or punk music, is unquantifiable at this point. She deserve major props for what’s she help build over the years.
- Anyhow, whilst Stages in Faith aren’t strictly speaking a ‘hardcore’ band like those I saw tonight, however they did put out some records for QC and share members with Lawful Killing.
- If you’re a fan of Farside or bands that strike that weird midway point between 90s hardcore and US melodic punk / post-hardcore you ought to like this band.
- Although Sprezzatura probably isn’t my favourite SIF song (FYI it’s Cut and Run) it has all the elements that I enjoy about the band: vocals that sound both relaxed one minute then rampant the next whilst always retaining a sense of melody, and very west coast-y guitar riffs that always sound on the age of sounding discordant and yet are somehow full of melody and catchy.
- Given the sonic cues of 90s underground music throughout the music, it’s unsurprising I suppose that the visuals mirror that same, cult, analogue feel. With plenty of interesting references to cult VHS movies and comics throughout. I think the grainy, and again, ‘almost discordant’ looking greens and blues, match the semi-melancholy of the music.
- This is a cult video for a cult band on a cult record label. Need I say more.
