1,249 OCTOBER DRIFT, Bristol Rough Trade Records, Tuesday 18th October 2022

 

Another chance for a close-up gig and a “meet and greet” at Bristol’s Rough Trade Records, and a possible “History Repeats” moment… I’d first seen promising young neo-shoegaze/ post-punk rabble October Drift here on their debut album release show, back in 2020 just before the world stopped (gig 1,172), as I was unable to make any of the dates on their subsequent tour. Having caught them earlier this year at my old haunt the Jericho Tavern in Oxford (gig 1,216), I knew they were in fine form, and would probably be more so, following vocalist Kiron’s tree-climbing exploits on Pearl Jam’s Summer Hyde Park gig undercard! They then announced an Autumn tour promoting sophomore album “I Don’t Belong Anywhere”, but, unfortunately, I can’t make it to any of the local dates… bollocks! But wait, they then announced another Rough Trade album release show in Bristol, and this one I can get to! Yay!

 So I headed off early doors for this early scheduled one, looking forward to some promised “sonic brutality” (the band’s words, not mine!)! Got held up by a broken down VW camper van just outside Cabot but otherwise parked up and hit the venue in good time. However, the place was very quiet and the band themselves were setting up for an acoustic performance down the far end of the store, rather than in the usual back room! Turned out they wanted to give this format a try due to only 60 advance tickets being sold, to which I say a) brave boys, putting a lot of trust and confidence in the quality of their song writing, once stripped of all the heavy guitar assault, and b) 60? Only 60? Bristol, what is wrong with you???

 I took a pew down the front of the performance area, in front of a few little tables spread out from the usual corner bar, as a RT employee placed candles on them for that relaxed hipster bistro feel! Eventually moved to a padded bench against the far wall (the wooden bench made my bum ache, so there!), just before the boys (who’d been meandering around the bar area chatting to various folk) took their places just after 7.30, Kiron remarking, “we’re about to fumble our way through some new songs…”. So, acoustic it was, with drummer Chris straddling an amp case for percussion and announcing, “this will be the most chilled version of the [new] album you’ll ever hear”!

 

Opener “Lost Without You” was nonetheless a splendid opener, the verse given a more eerie, haunting feel acoustically, before the bleak yet strident hook, which for me recalled Adorable’s more morose moments. This seemed to set the tone for much of the new material, as “Airbourne Panic Attack” similarly featured a moody, stripped back verse and huge chorus, given extra gravitas by the emphasis on vocalist Kiron and drummer Chris’ impressively powerful dual vocal harmonies, and “Feels Like” featured an equally potent chorus, underpinned by some fine percussive beats from Chris. “Webcam Funerals” (“a bit of a timestamp”, acknowledged Kiron) was a moody piece with bleak subject matter, and “Waltzer” – a “cheesy power ballad” which none of the band initially liked, according to Kiron! – featured some anthemic call and response choral lines (“I had to fight hard for [those] in the chorus!” admitted Chris) had somewhat of a Waterboys “Big Music” feel.

 By this time Chris was feeling the strain of his strident and committed backup vocals and needed a strawberry Strepsil, gratefully accepted from a lady in the front row, to keep on track! A couple of oldies followed; an excellent melodic “Forever Whatever” and a dramatic, undulating “Oh The Silence” before Chris and Kiron delivered a final, slow burn and elegiac “Old And Distant” to round off an excellent vignette, the boys’ confidence in the quality of their (particularly new) songs utterly justified.

 

Got the sole list (hooray!) and milled around chatting briefly to guitarist Daniel, before getting a more “formal” pic and signed list/ CD. Shame I can’t get to any of their local tour dates, as I bet the new material will really take flight with the full “sonic brutality” behind it, but that’ll wait for another time. In the meantime, this was a thoroughly successful gig, the acoustic format giving this young band a different dimension and revealing the shining quality of their material. Well done boys!