NEWS
EVENTS
Exposure: New Band Of The Day - Drenge
Indie | Friday 16th August 2013 | Billy
Such animosity and grit that Derbyshire duo Drenge bring has been sorely missed of late in a guitar scene that has become overwhelmed by etiquette and a state of protocol. The rough-rock brothers seem more than content to set themselves apart from the barrage of bands that circulate the current crop with their raw thrashing sound and equally edgy ‘we’re not here to please’ attitude that conceivably hasn’t been seen in a British band since the arrival of ‘Steel City’s’ Arctic Monkeys, apart from perhaps Palma Violets. And as if the band couldn’t come across as any more heartless and vindictive the pair are named Eoin and Rory Loveless.
A sense of anger and rage birthed from teenage boredom and sheer aggression burns from the Drenge camp with tracks like ‘Bloodsports’ and ‘Dogmeat’ suitably named to give a similar first impression of that of a caged pit-bull that has been continually prodded. Drenge, the self titled album is a fantastic product and representation of small town, no hope English life and youth in revolt.
The single ‘Backwaters’ perfectly portrays this antagonistic vibe with the video featuring a group of adolescents drinking super strength larger, stealing a worn down car and viciously demolishing it. The callous and cruel lyrics follow suit as Eoin grinds out ‘Saw a lamb and it was choking on death/ its mother kicked and broke its neck/ I’ve never seen blood and milk mixed so divine.’ I’ve listened to this track 10 times in the last hour and it just gets better each time.
This band are really honing in on a brutality that is ever present and lurking inside the youth of today as it has done for generations previous to it, and by unearthing that utter rage they have produced something that is fantastically real. Complete with riffs that have been battered out so hard that it’s difficult to believe how Eoin’s guitar strings don’t rupture under the sheer force and with Rory’s drumming full of energy and vigour to match that draw an obvious comparison with The White Stripes and Sex Pistols.
This album truly is going to be something special, it’s out on the 19th August and with the pure frustration and rawness that it boasts, it is hard to imagine that it will not turn heads.
Verdict: 9/10
Billy Thomas
Twitter: @BillyThomas95
