“We had no idea this joke would go so far.”
For the entourage on-stage tonight at London’s Scala, classic hard rock was the name of the game on this raucous occasion. In spite of their distant Newcastle roots, Pigs have clearly resonated substantially through the rock soundwaves over the past few years, through their 2017 debut EP and 2018 debut LP, King of Cowards, culminating with a sold-out show at the nation’s capital.
‘Pulverising’, ‘bludgeoning’, and ‘monolithic’ are only handful of words which have previously been used to describe the act’s interpretation of a sound which was once conquered in this country by the likes of Motorhead and Black Sabbath. Safe to say - Matt Baty’s Pigs (x7) are continuing to keep those embers burning as we draw towards the 2nd decade of this 21st century.
Frontman Baty’s vocals have often been tagged as unique and unrefined, perhaps like an ancient Greek wine. Bordering on flat-out incoherency, it is Baty’s on-stage persona and charisma which trumps all else as he commandeers every crevice of the stage and pit - from the inception of ‘GNT’ to the finale of ‘A66’. Crawling, sliding, biting, tangling, wrestling, and sweating profusely throughout, Baty deemed unassailable as the wall-of-sound, blaring guitars bled into the ears of the tenacious audience invigorated by their nostalgic exuberance.
Whilst this sort of exuberance has become common place within the realms of hard rock and punk, the likes of covering Beyonce and Jay-Z has not - which is exactly what took place in the set’s mid-section. The bellowing and cavernous vocals collapsed most of the original track’s resemblance, yet became mostly occupied by the raucous distortions and feedback supplied by the various guitar tones and drum clashes on stage. At a time when rock’s mainstream holding has well and truly been dethroned, the obscure cover may just have acted as a self-indulgent tangent which, according to Baty, made them “feel like popstars”.
"Since we sold this show out - if each of you bring 27 people to our next gig, we'd be able to sell out The O2."
Yet this pop-twisted tangent failed to detract from the band’s overall set, undeniably latching themselves onto the nostalgic rock-driven sounds popularised in the 1970s and 80s - right down to Baty's Herculean vocal delivery emblematic of Lemmy Kilmister. Fortunately, the updated twist of incorporating sporadic electronic twitches peppered amongst the evening’s setlist undeniably provided a fresh take on a heavily-excavated yet beloved genre within the U.K.
The only major qualm that I reserve for these acts in this trialling time for modern rock, is the ubiquitous lack of room for sonic experimentation within their repertoire. Nostalgia can only cover up so much of an act’s rock-driven sound in this day and age, in which Pigs (x7) must continue to evolve - whether it be with other instrumentation, intricate time signatures, or quirky production. Nevertheless, for their live show, this act excelled in bringing something new to the table of rock ‘n’ roll in 2019 - unanticipated sonic tangents, prolonged outros, and a frontman who can dance and scream for England. Let’s see what the future holds for this monolithic ‘joke’ of an entourage in aspiring for The O2 Arena in the not-so-distant future.
7.5/10
Pigs' latest LP, King of Cowards, is out now and can be found here.
Tickets for the remainder of their UK tour later this summer can be found here.
The featured photos are courtesy of Jose Ramon Caamano.
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