Live Review: Hot Mulligan - Prospect Building, Bristol 10/03/2026
A blend of heart-breaking diary pages and a rough-around-the-edges stand-up set makes Hot Mulligan’s performances both wildly entertaining and earth-shattering every time they set foot on a stage. This Bristol date was no different.
After a record-breaking 2025 that included a whole new album, North and South American tours and a Pierce the Veil support tour, hot mulligan aimed to carry the torch into 2026 and did so without its flame dwindling in the slightest. as they yet again crossed the pond to conquer even more crowds This past Tuesday was Bristol’s turn to experience yet another emotionally destructive yet beautifully bouncy show from emo’s #1 hot new band. Nearly 3 years after their previous show in Bristol’s sprawling alternative scene, Hot Mulligan rocked up to prove yet again that it is possible to both violently cry and stay upright in the middle of a mosh pit. bringing back up in the form of budding and visceral newcomers, Soot Sprite, and the longstanding, catchy math rock band Delta Sleep, this night opened and closed on a high note for every member of the crowd.
Every time this band has crossed the pond, they have always had stellar support to make for a night of memorable music, and this was no exception. First up from this line-up was an all-new act to me, Soot Sprite. As they dawned upon the stage, draped in yellow lighting, they all wielded their instruments of choice and kicked into a handful of tracks from their most recent project, “Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon”. I was absolutely astonished by their gigantic atmospheric sound as they immediately broke into a grinding yet ethereal blend of emo and shoegaze. Their sound was full of vibrance and melancholy, everything from the vocalist’s projection and strength of voice to the chopping rhythm section and sharp tonal shifts of the guitar parts. as well as nailing their tone, Soot Sprite were able to pack out the room and put on a very professional feeling show, from pacing to light and sound they seemed on top of it from the jump and continually pushed the pace to a roar of applause after every single song. As they finished their set emphatically, a buzz arose around the crowd. The engine was on now, and Soot Sprite had just put their foot on the accelerator, ready for our next display of brilliance, Delta Sleep.
As the room began to fill out, the rising anticipation finally gave way to the next act of the night as Delta Sleep rocked up onto the stage with reckless abandon and without second thought, exploded into an avant-garde display of catchy tracks and technical brilliance. Every track felt crowded and cascading, not in a sense of poor layering but in a sense of immediacy and efficiency. They blended just about every genre of music in an effortless display of mastery that absolutely astounded me from start to finish. playing songs from every project of theirs, we as an audience were able to get a real feel for their blend of jazz, math rock, emo and alternative influence that didn't fit within the parameters of any one sound. However, instead chose to flow and breathe, being whatever it decided it wanted to be while still somehow retaining a sense of identity that makes you go, yeah, that's Delta Sleep. Every single track was unpredictable and only amplified the mood of the room. After nearly 30 minutes of having my mind melted, the anxiety set in, it was finally happening, and it was not long till this room full of people were rasping and screaming unintelligibly to some of the most heartbreaking bangers known to man.
As the intermediary playlist dwindled to a close, the lights dimmed, and the crowd bellowed in excitement for the kings of the modern emo landscape to lay waste to a stage in their city yet again, and they did not disappoint. marching on one after the other, instruments in hand, there was no greasing of the palms or drawn-out introduction; instead, they jumped straight into a brilliant 7 song stretch from their all-new album “The Sound A Body Makes When It's Still”, opening with the album’s opener “Moving to Bed Bug Island”. The crowd swayed and sang in unison to the transcendental and beautiful opening verse before all immediately belting out its vicious and harsh choruses. This energy remained the same throughout the entire set, with the sound decreasing ever so slightly every song as people battled through losing their voices to keep screaming the beautifully personal and poetic lyrics of both Tades and Chris. The first half of their set included even more bangers such as both singles from the new album, “And A Big Load”, and “Island in the Sun” as well as the patented in-between song wisecracks of frontman Tades Sanville that never cease to get a chuckle out of the crowd. The set persisted on with non-stop energy both on and off the stage, the room was unable to stand still while the band flailed and absolutely stunned with the quality of their performance, never missing a single beat in any song and keeping their beautifully melancholic sound rolling till the wheels fall off. some standout tracks from this portion of set included ‘Bon Jonah’ where beforehand Tades just gestured to the bands bassist and yelled “Jonah!” before calling him handsome and breaking into the banger track. I could honestly talk ad nauseam about the sheer quality behind every single track in their setlist, as both the music and the experience of watching it unfold before your eyes is truly second to none, and this is a band that must be seen live and appreciated for the rest of time.
The second half of the set contained an absolutely astonishing number of older bangers that absolutely tore the roof off of the Prospect Building, tracks like “Drink Milk And Run” unfurled to the chaos of their brilliant tapping riffs and the crowd’s endless circle pits, keeping the crowd's energy at a non-stop high. As suburban heartbreakers like “How Do You Know It’s Not Armadillo Shells” and “Featuring Mark Hoppus” tore straight through the crowd’s collective heart, it was impossible to stop dancing to the sheer quality of every song. Having now seen them multiple times, they seemingly evolve after every single show, forever moving forward, making stronger, more atmospheric tracks as well as getting funnier and funnier. I am very thankful to have seen this band grow from album to album and venue to venue, as they truly do have one of the greatest live shows anyone could see.
As they powered through the set, dropping a mix of more classics and new songs, keeping the passion evident and the pace blistering, they announced their intermission through the second interlude of the album “This Makes Me Yucky” and swiftly returned to close the show on “BCKYRD” and “*Equip Sunglasses*”, whipping the crowd into one final frenzy of mosh pits and crowd surfs before closing the night on a simple “Thanks”, leaving the room lost for words and changed forever. If you have never seen a Hot Mulligan show, I implore that you do; there is no experience quite like hearing a room of 2000-plus people cracking their knuckles at the same time and then immediately being emotionally ravaged by some of the most well-crafted and intricately honest songs known to man. So next time they’re near your hometown, swing by and become just as infatuated as this Bristol crowd were. The memory will never leave you.
Words by Josh Pook
