Live Review: Nova Twins/Bone Cult/Witch Of The East

Nova Twins/Bone Cult/Witch Of The East

Rock City Beta, Nottingham – 20/9/2019

Some things take a little time to really bed in and so it is with the now not so new look Rock City Basement rebranded as the Beta. The little super new edges have gone to make this a very pleasant place to get up close and personal with bands.

First up are Witch Of The East fronted by Chambers’ Aeris Houlihan. This slightly grungy and very bonkers act starts out as a duo with Houlihan driving things along on vocals and guitar accompanied by a drummer.  Who needs a bass anyway?  There’s a twist in the shape of a second vocalist part way through who adds some ethereal magic while supping on a tin of beer and gyrating around the stage. While the music is garage inspired the vibe is art and the quality of musicianship is pure class. Watch Witch Of The East for too long and they may put a spell on you too.

There’s a bit of stage smoke for effect, there’s goth rock full on smokescreen, and then there’s Bone Cult. The mysterious masked men now complete with an additional sticksman put out enough fog to make Jamie Lee Curtis have nightmares. With a backdrop of panel lights you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve walked into a real life Close Encounters mother ship scenario. All this isn’t just smoke and no mirrors though, Bone Cult make great music. Coming across as a Pendulum with a hint of The Prodigy their set whizzes past in the blink of an eye. The drums are a bit of a revelation in terms of punctuating the music. This act really ought to be doing the festival circuit.  I wonder what they would come up with if they played outdoors though. Time hopefully will tell.

The Nova Twins have had a great year. They played Download Festival to critical acclaim and then went out on tour as main support to the mighty Prophets Of Rage. Tonight they’re in a little venue in Nottingham and they are on fire. The Beta is packed with fans all dancing away to some of the most original music around at the moment. The influences are far and wide. There’s quite a bit of Rage Against The Machine mixed with a bit of Deftones and quite a lot of Missy Elliot.  It’s like someone has made music from all the really kick ass acts from the last few decades and made it all make sense for right here and right now. Georgia plays the bass guitar in a way no one has ever done before making it sing, and rant, and rage, and even cry. Amy has the crowd in the palm of her hand, she is a ball of energy with a sass coating. Every track is cool, every word is hung on and every note is absorbed. The Nova Twins make you love music, they are the sound the future makes and boy does it sound great.

Review and photos by Gary Trueman