Live: Kagoule

Soup Kitchen – 20/11/2015

Kagoule have taken the D.I.Y alternative rock scene by storm. If their debut album Urth wasn’t enough to make you see why, then their live performances certainly will be. The Nottingham trio open with ‘Adjust The Way’, setting the mood for their unique sound with its sci-fi style guitar on the verses, the fuzzy intro, and whiplash-inducing pace changes out the track. The stage, soaked in strong coloured lights, also underpins the sci-fi element throughout the set. The band is clearly well suited to underground—literally, in Soup Kitchen’s case—venues. I struggle to imagine how well their alien vibe would be captured in a big venue, without the intimacy of being in a small room being attacked by the intense bass, and drowned in light as if you’re inside the mothership.

The band’s presence on the stage perfectly complements the music they play, oscillating between Cai’s spaced-out presence on the slower, almost paranoia-inducing sections, and Lucy and Lawrence’s frantic movements during their rhythms that often reach breakneck paces at the flick of a switch. This is most prominent on tracks like ‘Gush’, ‘Glue’ and ‘Centralwing’. There are moments of reprieve however, with Lucy taking over on vocals at about the midway point of the set with ‘Made of Concrete’, a more relaxed but equally as unique track. They also attempted to end on the transcendental ‘It Knows It’, a fitting end, but were coerced by the fans (myself included) shouting for more. The final taste in the fans mouths leaving the venue was instead the sub 2 minute thrasher ‘Empty Mug’, which sent the otherwise laidback crowd into an eruption of mosh pits.

Kagoule showed that they are able to have a variety of songs but while also keeping true to their own sci-fi brand of alt rock. They also demoed a new track—they said they’ve only played it 4 times—and if it’s any indicator of things to come, then we can expect great things from them in the future.

8/10