14.12.17

The Filthy Tongues + Klammer. Westgarth Social Club, Middlesbrough. 09.12.17.



Third time I’ve seen Klammer in almost as many months. Better be careful or I’ll start being called a groupie. Well worth it though, Klammer are a band that shouldn’t be missed. Their dark, punchy, spikey guitar driven sound never gets dull or boring. Like it was a couple of weeks ago in Leeds, the sound tonight is superb, really bringing out Steve Whitfield’s impressive punky/gothic lead guitar playing, the rumbling bass and drum combo from Mike Addy and Bruno Almeida and the deep, brooding vocals of Poz Strickland. Featuring songs from both their albums – ‘Star In The City’, ‘Somewhere New’, ‘A Vested Interest’ and ‘Big Lies’ from superb debut Auslane. Heavy, bass driven numbers with subtle sawing guitar noises that drop you right back in the middle of the best of mid 80’s goth with ‘Somewhere New’, interspersed with the fast paced, slashing guitar driven, foot tapping, singalong punk (Big Lies) and the clever blending of Gang Of Four guitar, late New Order bass/drums/synth that is ‘A Vested Interest’. Second album, the self-titled Klammer has a more consistent, much more punk feel to it – dominated by bass with a ton of catchy guitar riffs tonight’s set opened with the driving force of ‘Power Of N’ quickly followed by the thundering ‘Reciprocate’ and the pounding drums / piercing guitar of ‘Space Elevator’. Single ‘Everything Depends On The King’, quite rightly plugged by BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, full of subtle guitar picks leading straight into a thrashy chorus keeps the adrenalin flowing. Highlight for me at any Klammer gig is the slower but no less powerful ‘High Life’. Try listening to this and not wanting to let yourself go and bounce around. Impossible. New songs ‘Magpie’ and ‘Spiral Girl’ give a taste of what’s to come on album number 3 and it’s good. Top all this with the deep tones of Strickland’s vocals and lyrics you really want to grasp Klammer are a band that really shouldn’t be playing such small, intimate venues for too much longer. 

Klammer

Klammer

Klammer

Klammer

Klammer

Opening with a brilliant cover of Brel’s ‘Amsterdam’, also covered by The Filthy Tongues previous incarnation as Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, you know immediately that tonight is going to be very different from their Teesside appearance back in October supporting Brix & The Extricated. October’s show was fantastic but tonight The Filthy Tongues seem more powerful, more into the whole thing. ‘Amsterdam’ rolls into ‘Crew Cut’ – full on repetitive bass and a guitar riff that cuts in and builds to a perfect noise between each verse. Martin Metcalfe, Fin Wilson and Derek Kelly have been around in one form or another for over 30 years. First as Goodbye Mr Mackenzie then as Angelfish, both with Shirley Manson who went on to front Garbage. The Filthy Tongues album Jacob’s Ladder is, to me anyway, one of the best albums to be released over the last few years. Dark, gothic, bluesy songs that stay well away from the niceties of life and instead focus on its underbelly of addiction and violence. Tonight’s short(ish) 11 song set delivers six songs from the album. The pounding, almost anthem, that is ‘Children Of The Filthy’ - “it’s time to take the stage tonight, it’s time to kill the king”, title track ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ features one man feasting on another, the darkly menacing ‘Long Time Dead’ while dodgy dealers dominate ‘High’ – “He’s as high as an eagle looking for its prey … he knows where you’re dealing, you ain’t going to last”. Throughout it all Metcalfe, hiding under his pilgrim hat behind reflective shades, growls out the lyrics, occasionally crouching to hammer notes from his guitar, Wilson stares ahead and along with Kelly on drums delivers rhythms that drive deep into your soul. Keyboards and some extra percussion help add layers to the songs and complete the process of drawing you right in to the point that nothing else matters apart from listening. Angelfish number ‘Mummy Can’t Drive’ kicks ass probably more so than when Manson sang it. ‘Green Turn Red’, from days gone by as Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, thunders along and has the faithful dancing as does closing song, the classic Goodwill City, sounding as fresh now as it was back then although thankfully it’s rare nowadays to hear such toxic points of view as those of a Tory councillor that inspired the song. Returning to play ‘Bowhead Saint’ we’re taken back to Edinburgh’s less cheerful side one last time.
Two great bands, one great gig. Will tonight make it into my top ten gigs of 2017? Without a doubt.

The Filthy Tongues

The Filthy Tongues

The Filthy Tongues

The Filthy Tongues

The Filthy Tongues

No comments:

Post a Comment