Live Review: Blood Youth - Boston Music Rooms, London 10/04/2017
Blood Youth released their debut album “Beyond Repair” on April 7th along with an accompanying tour. We headed to the Boston Music Room, Tufnell Park to catch their show.
The three acts at this show have only one full-length album between them. Yet. Despite already having been announced for Download Festival in June, Holding Absence currently have only two songs available on Spotify, whilst Loathe similarly have one EP and are offering pre-orders for their own debut LP.
Holding Absence are welcomed to the stage by an already decently sized crowd. The welsh quintet are one that I’d been aware of in the ether, but not taken the time to listen to yet. More fool me – I’m astonished that this band haven’t received EVEN greater publicity yet. If you take the melodic hardcore aspects of Being As An Ocean’s self titled album and exchange vocals with those of Hands Like Houses singer Trenton Woodley, you’d be halfway to the sort of material that Holding Absence present. The youthful band is fronted by 22-year-old Lucas who has all the charisma of a singer with say, 10 albums under his belt. It’s evident that this band feels deeply about the music that they write: seeing them jump, scream and shout their way thorough a set that features thankfully more than their two online offerings. Dismantling the drums during their final song, they are applauded off stage by a seemingly very content audience.
As Loathe take to the stage, there’s something wrong: there’s no singer. A commotion amongst the front row reveals a character pushing through to clamber upon the stage adorned in a facemask and wielding what appears to be a human hand. Removing the mask is the singer, Kadeem and it’s obvious that Loathe’s set will be packed with energy. Brutal screams and chuggy riffs meet melodic cleans from guitarist Erik giving the Boston Music Room ample room to mosh, circle pit and generally have a good time. Ridiculously heavy, and unapologetically so.
As the only band on tonight’s bill with a released LP: Blood Youth’s set is more familiar to me, having listened to it almost non-stop since it dropped a few days before, along with the previous two EP’s “Inside My Head” and “Closure”. Erupting into “Making Waves”, the first song off the new album, singer Kaya calls for circle pits, guitarist Chris throws himself around the stage whilst the audience return every word. Singles 24/7 and Failure get a massive response whilst the more recent material, although well received, gets slightly less; the album’s only been out for three days, anyway…! Closing on the most recent single “Reason To Stay”, Blood Youth close their “Beyond Repair” tour in the Boston Music Room on a high.
Words and Photography by Rhys Haberfield