BROTHERGANG

B R O T H E R S @ Alibi. 30 Aug 2011



After some confusion between Kingsland Road and Kingsland High Street, the girls are make it just in time to see B R O T H E R S. Dressed in black, as per their posters, the band encourage any bar loiterers to come see them play in the adjacent basement by ‘making as much noise as possible’. That’s a hell of a lot of noise and the small space is soon packed out with inquisitive onlookers.



First song ‘Christening’ pulls no punches and we’re immediately met with dark rumbling drums, buzzsaw guitars and shouty, yet melodic vocals. This band aren’t for the faint-hearted, and frankly, thank heavens for that. Next song is dedicated to ‘Loose Women, who I hate’ snarls Rosie, one half of the drumming duo. Both she and counterpart, Sophie, stand behind floor tom, snare and cymbal, reminiscent of The London Dirthole Co.’s set up. Bassist Stevie is in the centre of the quintet and is prone to marching on the spot when excited. The two guitarists, Ellie and Maxie complete the 5-woman army, all of whom sing, shared lead vocal lines regularly intertwining with choral calls and responses.



Although no strangers to the London live scene in their other guises (The Brownies and Fever Fever), tonight is B R O T H E R S’ first gig outside their native Norwich. First of many we imagine. The highly energetic performance proceeds, with much banter betwixt songs, sometimes informative, sometimes just hilarious, all very endearing. Stand out tracks are ‘Glove’ and ‘Horses’, the latter of which is soon to be released as a 7” single on Nathan from The Gossip’s label Fast Weapons. The song highlights the pounding drums, strong guitar hooks and scattered vocals that make up the group’s distinctive, visceral-pop sound. By the penultimate song, Sophie’s drums have collapsed under the force of her thumping. The girls are proudly lend a hand to fix them long enough to get through closer, ‘Western’, and then, all too soon, it’s over, and an astounded crowd buzz around, trying to figure out what just happened.



This mighty band of B R O T H E R S are confrontational yet utterly charming, impassioned yet nonchalant. A little bit tribal, a little bit dirty but always entertaining. Go See.



Were you there? What did you think? - The Girls Are

Next up were the delightful BROTHERS. Consisting of three girls from The (awesome) Brownies and two from Fever Fever (one of my favourites right now and certainly ones to watch out for – they’re playing Glastonbury and if you’re there and don’t watch them a pox on you! Holy run on bracketed sentence, Batman!), their girlish delights are, well, delightful. Catchy, quirky and pretty effing cool, they bring a smile to everyone’s face. They are a cooler Gaggle with instruments; over-lapping their two guitars, one bass, two drums (toms and snares only) and five layered vocals and making it in to a real good time. They are infectious, and various songs of theirs have been stuck in my head ever since. Apart from when I had the theme tune to Grease stuck in my head. - Subba-Culture