“Can we get some more bass please?...Can we have less bass now?”
The U.K. is currently experiencing a concentrated infatuation with post-punk music - originally the afterbirth of the 70’s punk scene which saw the unorthodox incorporation of electronic and brass instrumentation. No better band than Leeds’ Drahla typifies this enigmatic genre’s burgeoning force of nature currently. Having recently shared stages with Parquet Courts and Ought, this 4-piece act have taken leaps and bounds in the lead-up to the recent release of their debut LP, Useless Coordinates. Along with the timely introduction of saxophone into their current repertoire, it was high time I went to see for myself what this brash, brazen, and bassy band could offer.
Their first track ‘Pyramid Estate’ ultimately signified this band’s offerings for this evening - darkened post-punk mixed with brooding bass refrains and spasming saxophones. As well as this, frontwoman Luciel Brown’s nonchalant, care-free vocals imminently entered into this fray cryptically spouting “expiration date for a tangible existence”. Shortly followed by one of their most popular singles to date ‘Stimulus for Living’, the incessantly lower vocal melodies coalesced admirably well into the obscurity of Brown’s cryptic lyricism against such forcefully steady beats bolstering the track.
Approaching the set’s mid-section, inevitable sound issues from the bassier tones were furthered. Amongst the enticing tracks of ‘Invisible Sex’ and ‘Fictional Decision’, the bass tonalities seemed to obstruct the cataclysmic sounds exuded on stage and left me craving a wider variety of instrumentation from Drahla. Particularly for the latter track, the bass drowned out Brown’s rhythmic guitar and suggested the band were in more need of an additional guitar or brass instruments, rather than increasing their bass tones.
In spite of this awkward sound mixing, Drahla’s overall impression upon the post-punk scene deemed enticingly hypnotic. Grasping at clear post-grunge influences such as Pixies and Sonic Youth for the aforementioned track, additionally divulging into the monotonously compelling grooves of seminal 70’s proto-punk such as Neu and Suicide. Although the band admitted their one instrumental track required lyrics, it struck me that this band could in fact veer further toward those experimental 70’s instrumental rhythms and sonics rather than incorporating regular lyricals.
These ‘regular’ lyricals ultimately bled into the evening’s concluding tracks ‘Twelve Division of the Day’ and ‘React/Revolt’, seemingly unable to offer much else beyond Brown’s care-free delivery buried within its own crypticism. Whilst the dissonant call-and-response guitars embellished in the former and the free sax wanderings of the latter proved undeniably engaging for this enigmatic genre, the act still left much to be desired sonically. The latter experimental track offered a resounding conclusion, yet perfectly exemplified the necessity of expanding one’s sound for the better - portrayed well by their 7-piece contemporaries Black Country, New Road who sonically encompass the world of each and every spectator.
Needless to say, this self-professed ‘dark post-punk [band] with unpredictable art-rock’ undoubtedly impressed the beguiling nature of these genres upon our intimate crowd packed into London’s Studio 9294. The chance for the band to mention the release of their recent debut LP may have gone amiss this evening, yet marked an important cog in the wheel for this country’s burgeoning post-punk passion. Whilst Drahla may not be able to compete with their contemporaries instrumentally or vocally, one can only hope that these facets will no longer prove an issue as the band gains further recognition. It’s still early days for an act who scraped together a shortened 10-track setlist, but I’ll certainly be keeping a keen eye on the evolution of their frenetic, spazzy post-punk world...as well as their bass levels.
6.5/10
Drahla’s debut LP, Useless Coordinates, is out now and can be found here.
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