Page 58 - Black Velvet Issue 94

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THE CRUEL KNIVES / …AND THE HANGNAILS – LONDON THOUSAND ISLAND 26.07.17
Rising from the ashes left from the demise of
Heaven’s Basement, The Cruel Knives have chosen an
interesting location for their debut headline show - the
newly rebranded and refurbished Thousand Island in
London, formerly Upstairs at the Garage, a venue made
most unique by the dozens of disco balls lining the ceil-
ing - but they are not the only thing which sparkle here.
And it’s not just the headliners who have a poten-
tially glittering future as the task of opening the evening
goes to York-based duo …And The Hangnails, who,
based on this performance alone, could be one of the
UK rock scene’s best kept secrets. The explosion in
popularity that Royal Blood has enjoyed has no doubt
caused some to re-evaluate their opinion of two-piece
rock bands and …And The Hangnails are not only an-
other fine example that sometimes less is more, but if a
band like Royal Blood just don’t have enough oomph for
you, then this could be what you are looking for.
Their 30-minute set is a full-on assault on the
senses, vocalist and guitarist Martyn Fillingham offering
some truly stunning axe work, with more than one ear-
bleeding solo during his time on stage, which leaves you
hungry for the next and with no-one else for company,
drummer Steven Reid works amazingly hard through-
out, but is rewarded for doing so as his brilliant talents
play just as big a part in their triumph on the night as his
colleague. It could be argued that Martyn’s vocals aren’t
the finest of his field, but the rawness and limitations of
his voice give their songs their own personality, which is
far better enjoyed live and it is surely only a matter of
time before more ears are lining up to listen to this band.
Former Heaven’s Basement guitarists Sid Glover
and Rob Ellershaw chose well when looking for a new
singer for their old band and had they elected to stay on
that path it’s unlikely there would have been many com-
plaints, but in switching to a new course as The Cruel
Knives, 21-year-old Tom Harris has the platform to put
his own stamp on things and does just that here with his
impressively smooth vocals and shining personality.
On the small stage here, Sid and bassist Rob are
like a pair of opposing tornados fighting for who gets to
smash the small village below them and Tom is caught
in between, but rather than just get blown away he feeds
off the energy of his more experienced band mates and
the trio, ably supported by drummer Al Junior who, ef-
fectively and efficiently, but far from quietly, goes about
his business, make for an impressive sight as they rock
their way through the 50-minute show. Given this debut
headline show also serves as a launch party for their
maiden EP, ‘Side One’, which was only released a cou-
ple of days later, the band come here with little material
which has been officially released, so, save the fans who
caught the band opening for The Pretty Reckless earlier
in the year, most are unfamiliar with the songs here.
That said, it’s a bold decision for them to open with
their most familiar song, their first single ‘The World We
Were Sold’, but it proves a winning move as immediately
it hooks the audience and they remain so until ‘Crawl’,
a song which didn’t make the final cut for the EP, brings
the evening to a close and you’d struggle to believe
those present are not familiar with the song given its re-
ception. It’s a big win for a band trying to make headway.
The size of their audience is a success alone, but the
way so many relatively unknown songs are received is
a glowing endorsement for the future and one the band
are clearly delighted to receive.
Prior to the start of ‘Crawl’, Rob confesses it will be
the last song of the night simply because it’s the last
song they have in their arsenal, but given we have en-
joyed more tonight that isn’t on ‘Side One’, it’s a prom-
ising indication for the future which could be just as
sparkling as the mirror balls looking over them on stage.
YYYY
Michael Coventry

Sid Glover (The Cruel Knives) Photo By Jessica Piochon

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