Issue 87 / April 2018

47Soul
24 Kitchen Street – 16/02
Mook Loxley provides us with an illustrative
review of shamstep collective 47Soul’s show at
24 Kitchen Street.
ROUND UP
A selection of the best of the rest from another
busy month of live action on Merseyside.
Yassassin (Darren Aston)
Down in the yellow basement of HUS a party is kicking into full swing. Jessica Fleming
joins promoters ICYMI for a celebration of their second birthday, and what better way to
commemorate the milestone than with a gig jam-packed with some of the best upcoming
bands around.
Leeds’ PARTY HARDLY are one of the night’s hors d’oeuvres, presenting a mixture of
tunes varying in styles from laid back slacker rock to heavy and fast-paced guitars. Frontman
Tom Barr presides over the stage, occasionally ditching his guitar to swagger off the slightly
raised stage to sing directly into the crowd. They’re a slick outfit and their energy is infectious.
The London-based five-piece punk band YASSASSIN are the night’s headliners, a band
who haven’t played in Liverpool since their set at Psych Fest back in September. That show
coincided with the release of their debut EP Vitamin Y, and since then the group have gone on
to play with Sleeper, Yak, and Skinny Girl Diet. The group attract a growing crowd who aren’t
afraid to dance along to the band’s rebel-rousing tracks, taking inspiration from lead singer,
Anna Haara Kristoferson, who is constantly giving it her all, whether it be with a guitar,
tambourine or mic in her hand.
Even with two new members, Nathalia on bass and Stephanie on drums, the group blow
the crowd away with one flawless song after another. The incredibly popular Social Construct
stands out, as does the slower and dreamier Cherry Pie, and personal favourite Pretty Face.
Alongside this, the band unveil a few newer songs, creating an exciting buzz around what is
yet to come and teasing at possible new releases soon. As Yassassin’s first gig of 2018, they
manage to set the bar high – starting their year with style, and making everyone present wish
for their return before they’ve even left.
It comes as little surprise that HOOKWORMS’ return to the city should be sold-out, and
Bethany Garrett finds them in fine form at their stint in Invisible Wind Factory’s basement
Substation venue. Their latest LP – Microshift, released in February this year – has racked up
some impressive critical acclaim from all the right places, while its propulsive lead single has
been plastered on the airwaves, a spurring, Kraftwerk-indebted track that has animated the
sleet-slowed trudge through the beginning of the year. It’s Negative Space that opens their
set in the packed-out Substation, and from the first beat, bodies begin to bop up and down to
their synth-laden neo-psych.
There is a lot of affection for the Leeds outfit from this Liverpool crowd – their 2014 Music
Week show at The Kazimier is a fabled one, and tonight there’s a similar feel in the air – that
much sought-after sentiment where you realise you’ve been fortunate to do that very lucky
thing where you catch a band at just the right time. The new direction of Microshift – a route
into a more expansive, synth-heavy sound – makes perfect sense live. The members of the
group are cast as silhouettes amongst metres and metres of wires and the multiple metallic
boxes and buttons that make up their expansive and well-used pedal collection. Behind
this, the 3D wizardry of Sam Wiehl’s artwork provides a constantly-changing onslaught of
abstract images that assault your vision, adding to the urgency of Hookworms’ frenetic and
futuristic sounding tracks.
47Soul (Mook Loxley / mookloxley.tumblr.com)
Full reviews of these shows can be found now at bidolito.co.uk.
REVIEWS 47