1,276 SAD BOYS CLUB, Hot Wax, The Book Club, Bristol Rough Trade Records, Friday 5th May 2023

One of my increasingly frequent trips to Bristol’s excellent Rough Trade Records tonight, but this time for a “proper” gig, rather than an in-store and signing sesh! The facebook page “ New Music For Old Punks” had recommended London newcomers Sad Boy’s Club, and I was so impressed by their urgent, spiky crush collision of upbeat indie and full-throttle new millennial emo evident on their superbly named single “To Heal Without A Scar (Is A Waste Of A Good Wound)” that I’d booked tix for this one before thinking twice about it…! Unfortunately, their album wasn’t actually due for release until today, so to prepare for this one, I’d downloaded some one-off earlier tracks, noting a distinct shift in their sound from an earlier, slightly ramshackle jangle-pop base, into a slower-burn, more expansive and more emotive alt-rock. Lots of moving parts in this new band, then, so this promised to be an intriguing voyage of discovery…

 

Drove down the M4 into the setting sun, dumping the motor in Nelson Street Car Park (scene of many a post-Bierkeller gig conflab in the 80s!) and hitting the venue about half seven, along with a sparse selection of early doors punters, very young and mostly female! Local openers The Book Club were on at 10 to 8, immediately impressing with opener “Ego Trip”, a pounding chunky powerpop rocker with a delicious descending middle 8 riff (always a sucker for those, me…), with the bright choral hook of “I don’t know any better” being sung back lustily by their front row fan club. This set the tone for an unexpected delight, this young band displaying some intelligent songcraft and naggingly insistent singalong hooks, powered by a strong-armed beat and an excellent voice in lead vocalist Em, their high register off-mic work during a later highlight, the widescreen slow-burn of “Flowers Grow”, being particularly impressive. Prior to that, a similar expansive “Don’t Worry Darling” showed serious stadium power ballad credentials, building to an impressive crescendo, and the rocking “Pursuit Of Happiness” closed out a stridently delivered and very promising set, indicating they won’t be bottom of the bill for long…

 Grabbed a quick word with an accommodating Em before popping back in for 3-piece main support Hot Wax. Up and comers from the US, apparently, but their embryonic post-grunge stompalongs and screaming vocals from the 2 female guitarist front line were hard on the ears, recalling the 90’s likes of Babes In Toyland, Hole, L7 et al, not really to my taste back then and certainly not now. One interesting number was propelled by an “LA Woman”-esque running verse bass descending into a sleazy Cramps-like bluesy chorus, but otherwise they became quickly wearing on me, so I retreated to the bar instead for an impromptu chat with a very affable Sad Boys guitarist Chris, about the band’s musical journey to date.

 Anyway, I was front and centre for their appearance at 9.20, the languid hazy Summer evening vibe of “Delicious” kicking off proceedings, hinting at both Britpop and NYC new wave influences. A frantic “Scar” upped the tempo a few dozen notches, recalling recent faves Modern Baseball, with vocalist Jacob already the visual focus;  a bug eyed, tousle haired dervish, varying between early Tim Booth staccato dances and more expansive all-action gesticulations (and, oddly, strongly reminding me of actor James Frain, AKA Paul Raines from “24”!). The subsequent gritty blue-collar city night-time anthem “American Spirit” then reined in the pace to a more emotive, mid-tempo feel, setting the tone for the remainder of the set.

 

Jacob alluded to a difficult gestation for the album in the intro to a languid “Coffee Shop”, which like many numbers in this set, burst into a strident, emotive chorus and a swirling crescendo. “Lump” was almost soulful in comparison, a passionately-delivered, rhythmically herky jerky “Your Mind” sped up towards its denouement, and a later “Chic” showcased some intricate (and appropriately 70’s disco flavoured) fretwork from Chris and some nice falsetto backing vocals courtesy of bassist Pedro, However (and in the absence of my favourite downloaded track, the jangly C86 blast of “Dead Fridays”) my set highlights were the 2 closers, the more upbeat groove and high register hook of “Kukachu”, and the libidinous opening to “Know”, leading into an all-out angst-ridden and impassioned choral entreaty from Jacob, leaving it all onstage.

 Fine stuff overall from a very promising band, and one willing to chat with friends and fans afterwards, which I did before heading off home, getting my list signed in the process. My only criticism at this point would be not to be too eager to discard their earlier material, but hey, that’s up to them. Either way, I’m looking forward to the album, and to continuing my voyage with Sad Boy’s Club!