Bad Owl have an impeccable track record of bringing the best of innovative, forward-thinking music to Leeds. Tonight sees a visit to Leeds by the fantastic Alpha Male Tea Party, fresh from the release of their latest album, Reptilian Brain. It doesn’t look like Bad Owl needs to worry about their winning lead seeing any setbacks.
Yeah, maybe kick off proceedings tonight with a sound that is equal parts familiar and warm, sometimes bringing to mind a Yorkshire Alkaline Trio in its sardonic punkiness and keen sense of melody, seasoned with a pinch of post hardcore and a dash of early Arctic Monkeys (vocally speaking). It’s a great start to the evening, and we’ll be looking out for their recorded output when we get home.
“Best band in Bradford” (according to Yeah, Maybe), Trigger Thumb are up next with their quirky take on math rock. Musical proficiency is the name of the game here, tight and highly technical but with a decent dollop of funk. The band opt not only to play on the venue floor rather than the stage, but also to use their own PA, which is a level of sound control we’ve not seen before. With metallic outbursts, jazz-inspired freak-outs and a hugely hyperactive approach, they are really quite captivating, especially with the crowd being as close as a crowd can be without being actively in the band. If you need a description of this band, well, they’re a mixture of System Of A Down, Mr Bungle, Primus and Callous Daoboyss…kinda. To be quite honest, they sound like Trigger Thumb, and you really should go and find out for yourself the next time you’re on any streaming platform or they play in your town.
Fresh from wowing the audience at ArcTanGent, we’re really looking forward to Alpha Male Tea Party tonight. They launch into the mathy but definitely rock sound of Battle Crab(?) and immediately grab the audience and shake them. We’re informed on the third track that they didn’t always have vocals, and the band turns on their heels into a kicking instrumental, metallic, post-rock that has the audience now singing the baselines. This is our first time witnessing this band, and already we know it won’t be our last; we’re hooked! Hostess Imperial is the best freakazoid mathcore we’ve heard, named after a seventies food-heating trolley.
Technically incredible without losing any of their groove and weight, this is how being clever musically doesn’t have to be alienating and can still bring the party. Bonfire Disaster Movie apparently has an over-the-top bass line that was influenced by being written after too many IPAs and inflated confidence. Hard to play, wonderful to listen to! There are many fans in attendance here tonight who seem to know their set back to front and cheer every hook and riff accordingly. Not only is their music hugely entertaining, but their general down-to-earth stage patter makes for a nicely humorous night and a great connection with their crowd.
Once again, Bad Owl has pulled out a peach of a bill, and Alpha Male Tea Party has left us all grinning like maniacs. Stewart and Kerry Ramsay end the night safe in the knowledge that their 100% success rate as Promoters remains unblemished.
Review By George Miller – https://www.facebook.com/oneflamemedia
Photos By: Thomas Hazlehurst – https://www.instagram.com/tommytogtog/
Subscribe to DeVlog – The Video Home Of Devolution Magazine https://www.youtube.com/@devolutionmagazine
Trigger Thumb
Alpha Male Tea Party
