METZ w/ CHEATAHS + THE WYTCHES
Village Underground, London | November 28
If METZ come to your town, go and see them. There are very, very few bands flying the power-trio flag as high as they are right now, or bringing as much to the table in terms of thrilling live performance. And if they bring a couple of excellent young bands along too, then you can count yourself very fortunate.
First up on tonight’s stellar schedule are Brighton-based three-piece The Wytches, whose dark psychedelia, complete with crashing drums and heavily reverberated guitars is ringing around the high-ceilinged Village Underground from quarter to eight. A well-sized crowd has assembled for their set though, testament to the considerable interest their name is beginning to gather. There’s something innately exciting about a young-faced band displaying such refined tastes and playing ability – or in other words, just being bloody good.
The Wytches are bloody good, and headliners METZ, who we’ll come to later, are bloody excellent. But Cheatahs offer us a kind of respite we didn’t know we needed – they’re bloody lovely. The London-based quartet essentially do shoegaze, but with the pop sensibilities of Dinosaur Jr, Teenage Fanclub and early Foo Fighters. They’ve a new album out on Sub Pop soon, and all the songs we don’t recognise tonight sound stunning, with set closer The Swan an all-smiles, guitar-duelling triumph. It’s vast, totally dominating the room in an altogether nicer way than what the headliners will soon provide.
Toronto noise trio METZ have been touring extensively since the release of their debut album just over a year ago, notching up headline gigs at bigger venues each time they return to UK shores. At one point tonight, frontman Alex Edkins sweetly pays tribute to all those here who were also at their first London shows round the corner at The Old Blue Last, and later Birthdays back in 2012. From the moment the band take to the stage we’re reminded of the ferocity with which METZ attack each and every show. They career immediately into a relentless double header of Wet Blanket and Knife in the Water, during which Edkins and bassist Chris Slorach lurch back and forth, side to side, whilst continuing to play with impeccable tightness. Given his relentless head-banging, the strap Edkins uses to keep his glasses attached is an absolute must, without it he’d be haemorrhaging money on prescription lenses. Meanwhile, drummer Hayden Menzies belts the living shit out of his kit at every opportunity – the guy’s a total animal.
Village Underground can be a tricky venue for rock’n’roll bands – whilst great to look at, its high ceilings can often see the impact of a guitar become diluted arounds its expanses. But it works perfectly for METZ, capturing all that excess noise, feedback, fuzz and reverberation the band have inherited from the likes of Shellac and The Jesus Lizard, affording their barrage the additional space it deserves.
You can only admire METZ’s positive approach to making music and playing live. Every song tonight is picked up by the scruff of the neck and played hard and fast with boundless enthusiasm and a genuine lust for noise, with Edkins beaming like the happiest man in the room. For him it’s all about momentum, maintaining the buzz throughout the room; he looks proudly at the happy mess of people before him reciprocating his enthusiasm, excitedly bounding back to his mic and yelling “OK, let’s keep things moving” before introducing Get Off. With talk of a second album growing and seriously enticing glimpses at ferocious new tracks, METZ are a band on the rise and on a roll. Let’s keep things moving.
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Words: Jack Bolter
Photo: Village Underground
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