Perfect Pussy

Green Store Door, Brighton | 29 July

Scientific research has suggested that, generally, we make our minds up after ten seconds of exposure, that first impressions count – rarely can they be changed afterwards. So to strike with an air of controversy is like pulling up outside a club in a Saxo with a fully on bodykit and an aluminous paint job – an attention-grabbing stunt that could easily backfire.   

But genuine excitement surrounds Perfect Pussy, and there’s the belief that the Syracuse-based band can live on and surge through the initial wave of hype.

The opening night of their swift visit to the UK sees the five piece embark on a short and sharp whirlwind of a ferocious, sweat-inducing set, with the band eschewing stage chatter for a heads down approach which sees them rattle through as many songs as possible in 30 minutes and vocalist Meredith Graves’ yelled vocals intertwine with a hard backbone of frantic rhythms and fizzy power chords.

The performance  ends with Meredith clamouring onto the speaker stack and climbing to the top, as a thick sludge of distorted, discordant noise pulsates over the gobsmacked and sweat-adorned audience below. But there is no bravado here, just a real and committed need to give a powerful and hard-hitting sound the delivery it deserves.

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Words: Nathan Westley

Photography: Michael Burnell