Last Wednesday, Drenge celebrated the release of their second album Undertow, following their debut self-titled album from 2013, with a one off performance at rough trade and a signing of the album. Arriving half way through the first song ‘Running Wild’ and attempting to navigate through the vast crowd standing behind various pillars and CD racks, you could see how many already knew the words to the brothers’ songs which were only released 2 days before.
Right from the first song they delivered their quintessential angry and snarling vocals and heavy guitar riffs, contributing to their label as one of the most exciting live bands around at the moment. The twenty something siblings Eoin and Rory Loveless recruited the work of a bassist for their new album, and you can tell the difference it made. The short set including ‘Running Wild’, ‘Never Awake’, ‘We Can Do What We Want’ and ‘The Snake’, was energetic, grungy and loud; the epitome of Drenge’s sound but also a welcome subtle improvement on their tracks previously.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsqy-z8HQ-o&w=740&h=422]
As the crowd favourite ‘We Can Do What We Want’ started up, it almost got the Shoreditch audience moving, the east London record store atmosphere hindering the usual gig ambience. However it did give a flavour of what to expect on the bands upcoming tour throughout April.
Uttering the first words since coming onstage, the band ended the show with a “Thanks for buying the album. Thanks. Bye”, rounding off the event and concluding a show case of their great new music and solidifying them as one of the best live bands around.
Words by Daisy Lester