1,419 OCTOBER DRIFT, October Drift (!), London Highbury Garage, Tuesday 2nd December 2025

 

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened…

After 10 years, 3 albums (including my currently reigning Album of the Year in 2024’s “Blame The Young”) and 8-so-far (for me) gigs varying from introspective record store strumalongs to thrilling in-your-face anthemic rock of the highest order, Taunton’s post-punk rabble October Drift – one of the most incendiary, dynamic and kinetic “live” acts of recent times… actually, make that ever – have sadly decided to bring their decade-long odyssey to a close. They announced 3 gigs as a celebratory punctuation point on proceedings, so of course I had to be at one of them! Their Bristol Thekla date however sadly clashed with my previously-booked MBV shlep (in hindsight, I wish I’d blown them off for OD on the “Dirty Boat” – my mate Matt was there and his dual reaction was, “insane,” and “my gig of the year”), so instead I booked for the actual final date, at Highbury’s Garage, scene of a previous final act from one of my beloved 90’s bands, The Heart Throbs, back in 1993 (gig 257). 

Cognisant of getting done speeding a bit too frequently of late, I left at 3 (!), a steady drive getting me parked in Osterley and over to the Garage an hour before doors. A queue had already formed so I decided to put in the time and join it, a correct decision (despite a late sprinkling of rain) which pitched me up on the barrier on entry, house left in front of the speakers, and next to John, a guy I’d chatted with at the Rialto Scala gig in May (gig 1,384). Much rock chat with this knowledgeable gent passed time until Kiran and Chris took the stage at 7.30, Chris, clearly taken aback, uttering, “there’s quite a lot of you here!” then informing us that this gig was a “strange redemption moment” following their worst ever gig, here upstairs! A few acoustic numbers for starters then, Kiran providing the understated guitar embellishment for their intertwining vocals, with “Lost Without You”, shorn of the guitar assault and with Chris harmonising the guitar line, morphing into a heartbreaking lover’s lament, rightfully getting a riotous reception. Subsequent numbers trod the same path, the absence of volume shining a stark light on the morose and melancholy beauty of the material, with one deep cut oldie, “Still” (“no-one asked for it but we’re playing it anyway!”) almost Leonard Cohen-like in it's disconsolate wallow. “I Don’t Belong Anywhere” saw Chris hold a lengthy outro note, eliciting a, “nice pipes!” compliment from Kiran, and “Naked”, apparently the band’s almost-break-up song, saw some startlingly powerful harmonies from the boys, rounding off this opening palate cleanser. “Back in half an hour,” promised the drummer, prophesying this was just the calm before the storm…

The half an hour passed, the place got really busy down the front, then the symphonic strains of the stately opening riff to “Demons” played over the PA, the boys then taking the stage, sprinting into the track right out of the traps with their usual clear-eyed conviction and bottomless energy. And. It. Sounded. MASSIVE! Everest massive – no, make that Olympus Mons massive, thunderous and awesome. I’d earlier briefly run into Indoor Pets man James, again doing the sound tonight, and it seemed on this evidence he’d gotten the easiest job of the night. Just turn everything up to 11… then turn it up some more! 

That said, and despite a couple of occasions where, due to my proximity to the hanging speakers, Kiran’s voice was occasionally lost in the avalanche of guitar, this wasn’t MBV stupid. Nope, this was just a fucking stridently loud rock show, matched in no small part by the October Drift boys, who were leaving nothing on the table with their performance, aware that this was the last one and determined to leave on the highest of highs. And this was reciprocated by the crowd tonight, going batshit crazy in an expanding mosh, greeting every number with exultation, holding the boys aloft during their frequent forays offstage to crowdsurf (yup, every single one of the band – the stewards in the photo pit were pretty busy tonight, what with these band excursions and the equally frequent crowdsurfers launching into the pit!), and generally making this one of those nights where the join between band and crowd was pretty much indiscernible, feeding off each other and creating one huge seething and celebratory mass revelling in the joy of “live” music. I’ve diverted from my usual write-up habit of picking out individual tracks thus far because it really didn’t matter, every song was a winner, widescreen, huge and skyscrapingly anthemic (although Kiran’s crowdsurf during a cacophonous opening to a brilliantly building “Blame The Young” was a particular highlight for me, also eliciting a, “fucking hell!” response from drummer Chris). 

“This has been the honour of my life! Thank you so much for supporting us over this 10 years!” acclaimed an incredulous Kiran before the slow-burn opening bars and pregnant pause before the launch into “Forever Whatever” heralded the denouement; the ticking intro of “Oh The Silence” melted into a wallowing yet anthemic “Not Running Anymore”, a fitting conclusion to the rock, the boys gathering together for a well-deserved curtain call bow. But this story could only end one way… 

“That was fucking something else; you mad mad bastards!” exclaimed Chris before he, brandishing a mean tambourine, led Kiran into the centre of the floor to deliver October Drift’s epitaph, a reverentially received “Like The Snow We Fall”, the crowd singing along in hushed tones before Chris asked for volume for the repetitive outro hook, thereafter raising the roof. And then it was over.

I gathered my thoughts as the crowd, stunned, came to terms with the enormity of what they’d witnessed; a brief chat with James, then a catch up with Kiran and Chris, again sharing news from home with a caring drummer. Fond farewells before I crossed town, then a careful drive home got me back just after 1 a.m. As with the Gang Of Four finale on my birthday (gig 1,393), if this is truly goodbye, then October Drift have left us on the highest of high notes. Best wishes, gentlemen, we’ll miss you!

1,379 OCTOBER DRIFT, The Youthplay, Coast, Southampton Joiner's Arms, Tuesday 1st April 2025

 

After a very promising band of pretenders to the throne of current post-punk last night in Thus Love, tonight here’s the real deal in Taunton’s brilliant October Drift. Not only had this lot lain waste to The Thekla last time out in October 2024 (gig 1,353), their performance nailing down a spot in my Top 5 “live” acts of the year (in a pretty darn high-quality field…), but they’d also restored my appetite for “live” music after a fraught month dealing with the news of my wife Rachel’s cancer diagnosis. So, I’d eagerly booked for this, the opening night of a seeming continuation of their tour pushing their third album, “Blame The Young”, not only to immerse myself in another potentially incendiary post-punk night out, but also to share with the boys the news that things are now generally going well with Rachel’s treatment, and prognosis seems hopeful.

A busy school parent’s evening still saw me setting off down a sun-kissed M4/ A34 route down South, parking around the corner from the excellent Joiners and hitting the scuzzy back-room venue just after 7.30. Painfully young openers Coast were already rounding off a rocking opening number in front of a busy early-doors turnout of evident friends and family. The follow-up was more slower-burn, yet “This Time”, next up, really nailed their influences to the mast with some intricate Edge-like guitar licks either side of a big yearning chorus, and the subsequent “Outside On A Friday”, an aspiring proto stadium anthem, even had a bit of an early singalong! Clearly earnest and ambitious, then, this lot (plugging their forthcoming Heartbreakers headline slot with some enthusiasm), but nowt wrong in dreaming big, I guess… Main support The Youth Play were older, more practised and accomplished, with some galloping textural mood music giving obvious nods to dour post-punk and morose shoegaze; their amphetamine-fast opener recalled My Vitriol, and more atmospheric later material touched on recent finds Soft Kill. “After A Moment” was a moody, early Ride like number and probably the best of a promising, intriguing and idea-filled set, delivered with confidence and a resonant low baritone from the vocalist.

By then, I’d once again encountered Liz from Chandlers Ford, greeted OD soundman James from Indoor Pets as he disappeared upstairs, and also enjoyed a Bunnymen-centric chat with Jonathan and Faith from Fareham, in my spot down the front, house right. At 9.20, “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” swaggered out of the pa, and white-clad vocalist Kiron Roy led the band onstage, the huge swelling hook of the swayalong “Waltzer” igniting a mass singalong and getting the party started proper. “Southampton, we’re October Drift… let’s do this!” announced Kiron, already bent double and sawing away on this guitar nineteen to the dozen for the subsequent jagged and ragged “Demons”. Blowing the cobwebs away, and no mistake… 

I seem to be on a run of opening nights of October Drift tours; like that Thekla gig, last time out, they were once again “on it” from note one, delivering the kind of scarily committed and rocket-fuelled full-on energetic performance that has now become their trademark. “Hollow”’s massive anthemic hook ceded to a Bob Mould-esque squalling outro; “Blame The Young”, thrown casually in mid-set, accelerated into a hurtling, inexorable climactic build; and Kiron, who’d gestured and exhorted the crowd to get more involved from the off, had his first foray into the audience during the brooding, drum-dominated “Bleed”. A later “Airborne Panic Attack” also accelerated from a dead stop start into a thunderous intro, then dropped right back for an almost mumbled hushed verse before the massive roaring Nirvana-esque chorus, but the subsequent “Cherry Red” was the cheery on the cake and set highlight for me; this time it was wild-eyed and wild-haired guitarist Dan Young who ploughed into the centre of the mosh, initially coaxing squalling noise from his instrument as a punter fanned him, but thereafter leading the bounce-along to the dark gothy chorus.

After a fist-pumping “Oh The Silence”, Kiron again took floor central, dedicating the final number “Not Running” to his recently-lost grandmother, calling the elegiac yet soaring finale a “song for solidarity”, and ending another tremendous, incendiary October Drift set on a desolate yet triumphant note. Drummer Chris happily heard my shouts for his list, then after a short wait I caught up with the man in the bar, filling him in on our current family news. Again, Chris provided an understanding ear, typical of this band’s deep connection and genuine care for its’ audience. Pondered this on my swift drive home, back in the ‘don for 12.30. Why October Drift aren’t stadium massive already is a mystery for the ages; they absolutely deserve it not just because their canon is now chock-full of humungous oven-ready stadium bangers, but because they’re just about the nicest guys in rock’n’roll today. Indeed, October Drift are very much the Real Deal!

1,353 OCTOBER DRIFT, Car Park, Bristol Thekla, Thursday 24th October 2024

 

Hoo boy, did I really need this…!

The last couple of weeks have been undoubtedly the most emotionally fraught of my entire life, following my dear lady wife’s lung cancer diagnosis. An absolutely horrendous time, with no real appetite for doing anything “fun” ever again… However, Rachel’s first oncology appointment revealed a new, targeted and so far successful tablet-based drug to tackle her specific cancer mutation, giving us hope that this treatment might be effective for “several” years. So, thus buoyed, and with Rach’s blessing (nay, encouragement), it’s business as usual for the Rose household… which means, spend time together, do this family event, buy those tickets, go to that gig, live life! I’d honestly booked tix late for this gig more in hope than expectation, but was happy that prevailing winds allowed my attendance, to see one of the finest young British bands for years open their latest tour in support of their third (and frankly outstanding) album, “Blame The Young”, one which comes closest to capturing the vibe and atmosphere of their incendiary “live” performances.

So, a quick drive down and a messy stop-start trudge through Friday rush-hour Brizzle still got me parked up just before 7. Doors were already open, so I trotted down the front for a brief chat with Scouse OD Uber-fan Dazza, before looking around for intended gig buddy Matt, who I found was unfortunately stuck in Nottingham with work. Bah! So, back down the front, house left, for all-girl power trio openers Car Park, who kicked off with a couple of heavy-riffing grungy openers, the racey “MIA” recalling Auf Der Maur, and “Blown Out Of The Water” a more jagged stompy L7 groove. Some nice contrasting choral harmonies but an oddly dated sound, I thought, but then “Happy On Mars” changed my mind; a softer outlier to the beetle-crushing grungy riffs, this, with a melancholy and almost delicate feel underpinning it’s lyric about an ex-partner who’s fucked off to the red planet (“might be relatable one day!” quipped the blonde vocalist), this was rather lovely and my set highlight. A couple of pop-punkier tracks in the flippant, hooky “Born To Be Average” and a taut, pacey “Suburbs Of Hell” capped off an energetically delivered and promising, if a little schizophrenic set from an embryonic yet promising band finding their feet. One to watch, perhaps…

An entertaining chat down the front with fellow OD devotee Liz, a teacher from Chandlers Ford (so, much chat about our school-averse daughter ensued…), enlivened the wait until the lights smashed to black prompt at 8.30, and the synth swell of newie “Demons” formed the intro backdrop for the band’s entrance. No fucking about, they were straight into it, attacking this dark, dramatic and anthemic opener with their usual purposeful and kinetic ferocity. Vocalist Kiron shouted, “how you doing, Bristol!” before plunging straight into the strident choral hook of “Tyrannosaurus Wreck”, and we were away… 

For a first night, this was no less than an utter triumph. No first night nerves on show (despite comments from the band that, “we’ve not done this since May…”); instead, this was as seamless and inclusive a performance as I’d hoped for, the audience responding in kind with crowd singalongs to the guitar riff (!) of “Webcam Funerals”, and frankly losing their collective shit to the squalling intro (thanks to excellent guitarist Dan) and inexorable build of the thrilling hell-ride of “Blame The Young”, possibly OD’s best number yet. “You guys are the best!” exclaimed Kiron at its conclusion, following a mid-song excursion into the crowd, again proving there’s no real discernible join between October Drift and their devoted massive. “Everybody Breaks” was a heartfelt and elegiac lighters-aloft Stadium power ballad in waiting, then a crowd-bound Kiron was boosted up to the outside of the overhanging balcony (H&S? What H&S??!!) before falling backwards into the welcoming crowd’s arms and crowdsurfing back to the stage. Yikes! 

“Imagine nothing exists beyond this boat – and all we do is dance,” announced a breathless Kiron, before an utterly incendiary “Cherry Red”, followed by the Adorable-like slow-burn of “Wallflower”. “Not Running Anymore”, a song of “hope and love” delivered by Kiron in the middle of the crowd, was a poignant and entirely appropriate set closer, and totally on the nose for me, encapsulating an utterly redemptive show. Shortly thereafter, drummer Chris took centre stage (“don’t fuck with a guy with a tambourine!”), challenging Bristol to up their game for the traditional acapella closing number, a brilliantly observed “Like The Snow We Fall”, again delivered by Chris and Kiron from the floor. Simply a perfect and fitting finale.

Caught my breath afterwards, having bagsied Dan’s list earlier, then chatted with OD’s soundman – only James from Indoor Pets! Cool! Caught up with Chris as well – at their recent Rough Trade in-store (gig 1,350), I’d alluded to him that I was dealing with family issues, so felt it only fair to relay my story to a sympathetic ear. Thanks Chris. A quick chat with a young lady who approached me and said, “are you David? My dad reads your blog!” which was weird but nice (so, hi dad!), then I hit the road, home for 11. Like I said, I really needed this, something to restore my appetite for life and for music, and October Drift delivered big time. Thank you so much, boys!

1,350 OCTOBER DRIFT, Bristol Rough Trade Records, Thursday 3rd October 2024

 

An early evening jaunt down to Bristol’s Rough Trade, this, for another of those in-store CD release thingies from Taunton’s splendid October Drift. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is… twice before I’ve seen da Drift do CD release in-store gigs at this venue; a full-on electric show – in more ways than one – for debut album “Forever Whatever”, gig 1,172, and a much lower-key, bistro-tastic acoustic affair for the sophomore “I Don’t Belong Anywhere”, gig 1,249, this one in the store itself rather than the excellent back-room venue. So, it seemed churlish not to make it a 3-for-3 for this increasingly special band of shoegaze/ goth/ grungy post-punkers, for their highly promising new album “Blame The Young”. They’d premiered a couple of new tracks at their May Joiner’s gig (gig 1,325), the title track in particular sounding an absolute banger, so this one may well be their best yet. Let’s see…

This one also promised to be a lower-key acoustic showing, so I set off slightly later, a 6.15 departure getting me parked up just after 7 and in time for a chat with occasional gig buddy Adrian, who’d coached it over from Wales on a last-minute tip. Popped into the unfortunately sparsely populated back room just before 7.30, the Drift boys nevertheless wasting no time in promptly taking to the stage and installing themselves on their high barstools. Straight away this promised to be a little more… energetic, let’s say, than these usual acoustic affairs, drummer Chris commenting, “despite not being able to lob ourselves around the stage [on this CD release tour], we’ve been [compensating by] drinking a lot more – so this is going to be full-on energetic acoustic!” And he was true to his word, the hectic and relentless build of excellent opener “Blame The Young” generating more overt energy than most bands’ electric performances, despite being allegedly “unplugged”! The stately, lower-key “Demons” recalled Echo and the Bunnymen or Adorable in its’ widescreen use of space, and the elegiac “Hollow” was preceded by a game of “Guess The Drumbeat”, Adrian (standing next to me) guessing correctly and winning a percussive shaker! 

This was a fun and much-needed performance from October Drift. Lacking the fierce intensity of their usual dynamic plugged-in “live” events, the band instead showed a different dimension, with relaxed and witty urbane banter entertainingly filling the gaps between songs. And the new material, to a song, was absolute bloody quality, no messin’… After the story of “Hollow”’s inception was told (the song apparently coming out of a particularly chaotic Guinness-fuelled recording session), the subsequent more upbeat “Tyrannosaurus Wreck” was preceded by a discussion of the video, which featured vocalist Kiron walking around the town of Chard looking forlorn and wearing a knitted T-Rex suit (“for those of you who’ve been to Chard, [you know] it’s not the type of place to [do that in]!”) “Everybody Breaks” was another excellent newie, a proper lighters-aloft stately stadium ballad featuring some wonderfully textural and resonant guitar effects from Dan, and preceded by Chris’ story of telling his dad, on leaving university, that he’d give the band one year to make it – “that was 15 years ago!” 

“It’s strange to do a tour where you’re not dripping with sweat and there’s been no physical accidents!” joked Chris, before the band took requests from the small but perfectly formed (and very enthusiastic) crowd. An initial “Forever Whatever” was however somewhat haphazard, prompting the band to, “end on something better,” the big singalong chorus of “Waltzer” and the Kiron/ Chris vocal duet of a wonderful singalong “Like The Snow We Fall” doing the trick in that regard. Quick chats and CD signings with an affable band afterwards, Kiron and Chris particularly recognising me from previous gigs and bigging up their forthcoming Thekla gig. Let’s hope I can make that! Home at 10 after another fine showing from a band rapidly becoming one of my favourites of the moment, and a band seemingly at ease in any “live” setting. Acoustic, electric, forever, whatever… October Drift deliver!

1,325 OCTOBER DRIFT, Snake Eyes, Southampton Joiner's Arms, Thursday 2nd May 2024

 

A hectic 7-gig (currently, who knows?) May kicks off with a two-in-two’er, the first leg being a midweek jaunt down to the South Coast to see October Drift, Taunton’s finest purveyors of dynamic and dramatic grunge/ shoegaze wall-of-noise collision, and rapidly becoming one of the highlights of any gigging year due to a slew of incendiary “live” performances, hopefully set to continue tonight. This current tour, ending tonight, did pass closer to the ‘Don, particularly last Tuesday in Oxford, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see one of my increasingly favourite “live” bands in probably my favourite venue, The Joiners positively reeking of scuzzy rock’n’roll tradition. Like old 90’s/00’s “live” favourites Seafood at this very venue (gigs 450 and 706), this should be a match made in indie rock heaven. Let’s see…

A happily unencumbered blast down the M4/A34 got me parking up just after doors; since my last visit, a proliferation of double yellows have appeared in my usual street parking spots, but there’s a car park round the corner, so I can’t really complain… grabbed an easy spot near the front, house right and watched the place slowly fill around me, before support, Brighton 3-piece Snake Eyes, bounded onstage stage at 8.15 to the “Wallace and Gromit” theme tune! They set their stall out pretty much immediately with opener “Happy Pills”, a raw 70’s NYC Stooges punk stomper recalling The Subways or my mate Rich Carter’s short-lived band My Social Decline, continuing to tick boxes for me with a racier “40 Winks”, and the slow-burn languid laze-grunge of “Scuttlebug”, one of those numbers which, if you played it on record, would fool you into thinking it was on the wrong speed! The 70’s punk anti-billionaires protest of “No Cars” saw vocalist Jim leap into the crowd for his vocals, and after the drummer gave a shout out to several worthy causes (trans rights and Greenpeace amongst them), “No One Is Truly Cool” was dedicated to Wolf Alice’s bassist for allegedly being a bit of a dick to the band at Reading 2021! A raw-boned and hard-rocking set played with determination and dynamism was capped with the penultimate best-of-set “Wishbone”, a frantic thrash recalling Adorable’s “Favourite Fallen Idol”. Decent start! 

A quick trip back to the car to dump my hoody, then a merch-stand chat with SE vocalist Jim, getting the full skinny on the Wolf Alice incident (nosy git!), before getting my spot back. About ¾ full, this, which I guess is a decent turnout for a Thursday, but this band absolutely deserve much, much more! The witching hour approached, and a lone mic-stand was set up in the middle of the floor, then sure enough, the lights went dark and vocalist/ guitarist Kiron Roy emerged from the back of the venue, delivering a mournful solo “Ever After”, with the band, unseen, taking the stage and filling in during its’ denouement. Then Kiron joined them onstage for the launch into a soaring, tremendous “Lost Without You” and we were away… 

There’s a case to be argued for October Drift to be just about the most incendiary “live” band around right now, certainly a band whose intense “live” performances elevate their already-bloody-ace-actually huge-chorused shimmering grungy shoegaze material to seismic, earth-shaking new heights. And the movement? I’ve not seen a band consistently deliver such ferociously kinetic, all-action performances since the heady 00’s days of Seafood and The Gravel Pit, even…! The angular backbeat and trademark stratospheric hook of “Losing My Touch” saw the first of many forays by the vocalist back into the crowd, then “Don’t Give Me Hope” was a widescreen wallowing mood changer before a couple of newies, the Bunnymen-esque atmospherics of “Hollow” and the dramatic ascending verse of an utterly tremendous “Blame The Young”. Kiron (who throughout urged the crowd to come closer, get more involved) played conductor to the audience call-and-response “don’t think I’m coming back” hook of “Waltzer”; “Airborne Panic Attack” was all seething power and drama; and set closer “Oh The Silence” again saw Kiron in the middle of the mosh, as I abandoned my front row spot and moshed with him! 

Drummer Chris Holmes then took a vote (“lets do this like we’re at school”) for the encore, he and Kiron delivering the winning “Like The Snow We Fall” a-cappella in the round, surrounded by the devoted singing along reverentially to the hook. A beautiful, heart-tugging moment to end another quite startling gig from this special band. Brief chats with the band members, who seemed to remember me from recent gigs which was nice, then I sweatily hit the road for a return to the ‘Don just after midnight. They’re back on tour in the Autumn, and on this form, that’s also one not to be missed!

1,274 OCTOBER DRIFT, The Pleasure Dome, Newport Le Pub, Tuesday 18th April 2023

 

It’s been a tough couple of weeks since my last gig, due to my Dad passing away, which itself was preceded by a period of hospitalisation and hospice care for him. As he always used to say, though, you just have to get on with it, so I was grateful for this pre-arranged gig to finally crop up in my schedule, so I could get on with doing what I love; seeing bands! And in tonight’s hosts, excellent post-punk/ shoegaze noiseniks October Drift, an increasingly special band in my books… A family holiday in Crete had unfortunately clashed with their October 2022 tour promoting their sophomore album “I Don’t Belong Here Anymore”, although I had managed to see them do a “hipster bistro” acoustic performance at Rough Trade Bristol before boarding the plane (gig 1,249). Said album was comfortably in the upper echelons of my Top Ten of 2022, replete with shimmering soundscapes, strident power-riffs and skyscraping choral hooks, so tonight represented a great chance to hear that new material, hopefully with no horses spared, as it were…

 This tour took in the Thekla, albeit in an already busy gigging May, so I’d instead booked for an early-tour trip over the bridge to the little-visited Newport, to Le Pub, a new venue on my dance card. After a quick trundle down the M4 I found it quite easily, close to the railway station and directly opposite an NCP! The venue itself was a small Vic-sized room to the side of a bigger pub, and wasn’t open on my arrival, but I passed the time chatting with a local lad about a £20 note which he’d lost! Eventually wandered in for openers The Pleasure Dome, kicking off dead on 8 p.m. A trio of ginger mullets, rock tattoos, hair and shirtlessness, they looked like a poor man’s Biffy Clyro, which was quite an apposite comparison musically too, with plenty of changes of pace, strident screamy vocals and general grungy noise featuring in their set, albeit also with a bit of Kings Of Leon-esque Southern boogie thrown in. At best, their punked-up set recalled that “difficult” early Biff and Primus; at worst it veered uncomfortably towards incoherent and irritating Nu-metal. Still, seen worse, and I liked the vocalist’s logic; “this is [October Drift’s] first time in Newport; it’s up to you to make it a good one… or it’s up to them as well, maybe… joint responsibility!” 

Bumped into October Drift’s wide-eyed, enthusiastic vocalist Kiran Roy by the merch stand for a between-set chat; the tour has been going really well to date, but they were anticipating tonight to be one of the quieter dates on the tour. Not wrong there, as there were probably about 30 or so hardy folks present as the band took the stage at 9… well, three-quarters of the band, anyway… I’d wondered why the OD roadie had set up the lead mic to the back of the dancefloor, but here was where Kiran delivered the opening number “Ever After”, solo at first before the band bled in with low-key embellishment. However, things blasted off good and proper when Kiran joined his compatriots onstage for an utterly incendiary version of “Lost Without You”, the guitar boys all kinetic power and movement, sawing away as if their lives depended on it, backed up more than ably by drummer Chris, wild-eyed and pounding away mercilessly. Woah, what a start!

Perhaps taking their support’s advice to heart, October Drift were quite brilliant tonight, affected by the disappointing attendance not a jot, instead setting to their tasks with fearsome power, energy and clear-eyed conviction. By “Lost”’s strident, dramatic middle 8, Kiran had already abandoned the stage for an excursion into the crowd, the first of many tonight! Metronomic rocker “Webcam Funerals” upped the pace further, “Don’t Give Me Hope” was a slower-burn shimmer, highlighting their shoegaze side at least until the inevitable cacophonous climax, and “Bleed” was a ticking countdown into a roaring stadium rocker, all thunderous riffery and sky-scraping anthemic choral hook. The swaggering, Pixies-ish “Insects” was another highlight, and the strident “Forever Whatever” saw the front rows sway along to another brain-hugging hook.

 “Thanks for coming out! This is our first time in Newport; the first time we come to a town or city there’s usually about 10 people there!” remarked drummer Chris before the penultimate “Oh The Silence”, to which I couldn’t resist firing back, “come to Swindon, there’ll be 11 of us!” “Silence” was another hard-riffing, fist-pumping anthem to finish the set proper, at which point Kiran and Chris took to the middle of the crowd to deliver a largely acapella and quite beautifully heart-rending version of “Like The Snow We Fall” in the round. A lovely way to end a stellar and dynamic 1 hour performance from a band rapidly becoming one of the best “live” prospects around. A quick chat with the boys, then a tired and slightly diverted (through Bristol) drive home saw me back in the ‘don just after midnight. So, as Dad said, get on with it, and I’m glad to get back on the gig trail, particularly with this marvellous October Drift performance!

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!

1,216 OCTOBER DRIFT, Foam Heads, Oxford Jericho Tavern, Wednesday 23rd March 2022

 

Another trip down Nostalgia Avenue tonight, venue-wise at least; back to The Jericho Tavern in Oxford, scene of many 80’s/ 90’s gig nights for the likes of Pulp, A House, The Heart Throbs, Midway Still and my then-faves The Parachute Men, whom I saw 4 times in that scuzzy and sweaty upstairs room. And tonight has the potential of another rousing and memorable Jericho evening; mine hosts are October Drift, the young band who impressed me so much when I saw them, virtually previously unheard, in January 2020 at Rough Trade (gig 1,172) that I gratuitously bandied around phrases like, “most exciting prospect since Desperate Journalist”! Their debut CD, which I picked up that night, partly delivered on that promise with a melting pot of thrilling post-punk, heavy grungy riffery and more textured shoegaze, a slight lack of consistency of material seeing it just miss out on my 2020 Top 10 (in an admittedly high-quality year for albums!), but the dark, haunting stomp of “Cherry Red” comfortably making it onto my “Best of 2020” CD compilation. A couple of years on, then, it’s time to revisit this promising band to see where they are now…

 Set off at 6.15 then pretty much immediately realised why I don’t go gigging in nearby Oxford as much as its’ proximity would dictate; got stuck behind a lorry on the Oxford Road for ages, making the drive into the city interminable and irritating! Parked up easily, down the road from the old Tavern, and popped into the old upstairs venue; first in, and only one in for a good while too! A smattering of early comers had joined us for openers Foam Heads, on at 8. A 3-piece of indeterminate vintage (probably closer in age to me than to the headliners!) and a local last minute replacement for the Covid-affected tour support China Bears, their second number “Drowning In My Room” had post-punk shades of U2/Bunnymen and featured a Cure “A Forest”-esque underlying bass, and “Rain”, next up, was a valiant attempt at a hookier harmonic chorus, the shame being that the singer’s voice was somewhat lost in the mix. Whilst much of the set was more workmanlike fayre, they finished an overall decent set strongly with the 60’s spy movie backbeat of “Way Of The World”, also featuring some shimmering guitar licks. Not original, but fairly enjoyable overall.

 Took a step forward as OD guitarist Daniel Young finished soundchecking, and got chatting to a nice lady down the front, who was honouring her recent late husband’s memory by continuing to go gigging, a thing they both enjoyed. Good on you, my dear! October Drift joined us slightly late at 9.10, squeezed onto the tiny stage and charged into a cacophonous squalling noisefest intro to the powerful, fist-pumping anthem “Losing My Touch”, vocalist Kiran Roy’s deep, sonorous vocals as much a feature as his all-action style, ducking and diving onstage as if avoiding machine-gun fire. Stunning opener, but amazingly, it got better with the bass-led thrill ride of “Cherry Red”, Roy sawing at his high-slung guitar for all he was worth, flanked by his kinetic guitar partners and backed up by drummer Chris Holmes pounding seven hells out of his kit and pulling faces in the process. An amazing visual spectacle, an astonishing and almost palpable wall of sound!

 

It soon became obvious to me that October Drift are clearly one of those bands who take on an extra dimension “live”, coming alive onstage as the full-on rabid rock beasts they truly are… “Don’t Give Me Hope” came in all stately and elegiac before building to another cacophonous crescendo, Roy eschewing his stage spot and hiking through the audience (about half full tonight – come on Oxford, what are you playing at?), and “Oh The Silence” featured a powerful military beat reminiscent of Boston’s Taxpayer, with some squalling Pale Saints-like guitar for good measure. Newie “Insects” is evidently their Pixies number, a creepy bass intro surreptitiously building to a proto grunge choral howl, with “Come And Find Me” a rampant beast with a metronomic “French Disko” style beat powering it along. Impressive stuff.

 

All too soon a remarkable swift and sweaty hour was over – I’d been giving it as much as my knees allowed down the front, and was dripping sweat at this time – and Roy thanked us profusely before he and drummer Holmes took the floor (Holmes warning us, “shit’s about to get real”) and played an almost acapella final number, the touching and tender “The Past”, in the round, before heading directly to the merch stand to chat with fans and friends. I grabbed a setlist and joined in the chat – not only do we have a band who, like the likes of Seafood, American Hi-Fi, Midway Still et al, truly elevate themselves in the “live” environment, but also know their rock history and seem to have a real rapport with their fans. A better “economy drive” run home and back just after 11, after, as promised, another rousing and memorable Jericho evening!

1,172 OCTOBER DRIFT, Bristol Rough Trade Records, Sunday 26th January 2020

I have my good friends the Gurneys to thank for pointing me in the direction of this excellent young band October Drift, although it took me awhile to act on their recommendation... Craig popped a link on my Facebook feed as long ago as last September, but it took until their early 2020 tour was announced for me to give them any more than a cursory check. When I did, I found some thrilling shimmery guitar wall-of-noise right in my wheelhouse, and immediately cursed the fact I was already spoken for on the dates that said tour took them to Bristol Louisiana and Southampton Heartbreakers. All was not lost, however, as an in-store performance and signing session in Bristol’s Rough Trade record shop not only afforded me the chance to check this promising combo out, but also to pick up their debut album as it was included in the ticket price!

A busy weekend unfortunately not only meant a lack of time to add to my cursory research on their music (rendering the band pretty much sight unseen and unheard!), but also a later than anticipated departure, just before 6.30 for the scheduled 7.30 start. Hit traffic on the M4 just the other side of Bath which delayed me, so I pretty much had time to park up in my usual SWX car park just past the Bearpit, find this cafe venue at the back of the Rough Trade record shop, pick up my CD from the bar and take a spot near the front in the small and suitably rock'n'roll dingy side room, just before the boys took the stage bang on 7.30. Beckoning the curious few dozen of us forward then patting my shoulder as I took a big step forward, rakish, chiselled and wild-eyed vocalist/rhythm guitarist Kiran Roy led his charges, via a cacophony of noise, into opener “Losing My Touch”, a driving, layered opener that recalled Ride's classic shoegazing anthem “Drive Blind”. However from the off it was evident there was no shoegazing to be done tonight, the band launching into a dynamic, energetic and kinetic performance, the front three all throwing shapes with furious abandon and intent, and Kiran particularly sawing away at his instrument (which he had on such a short strap I thought at one point he'd start playing it with his chin...) for all he was worth, whilst strong-armed drummer Chris Holmes seemed to be working out his own personal exorcism, pulling some crazy intense faces as he pummelled seven bells out of his kit. Hard, fast and mighty!

 

“Cherry Red”, an upbeat thrill-ride of a track, saw me reaching for my explosive taut post-punk comparisons, coming up with the likes of The Chameleons, The Sound and even the goth-inflected strident rock of Flesh For Lulu; then Kiran took to the floor, embellishing a superb “Death”-era White Lies-esque “Just Got Caught” with his doomy, sonorous yet yearning vocal delivery. He repeated the trick for an acapella intro to the subsequent overt soaring chant of “Forever Whatever” before jumping back on (and around) the stage; then “The Past”, which recalled a couple of Pale Saints numbers at the same time (!) closed out a quite startling and utterly incendiary half hour, a total belter of a set, which left me lamenting my previous engagement next month. This lot would be amazing at The Louisiana, I reckon...

Kiran shook my hand as he stepped offstage and thanked me for stepping forward, which was nice; I then joined the short queue to grab some more complimentary words, pics and signings with him and the rest of the band, before heading back to the car, just under an hour after parking (!) and home by 9 pm (!!) after a quick inky blast down the M4. Result! And a hell of a result in this outstanding young band too, possibly the most exciting prospect since Desperate Journalist (high praise indeed!). I'm glad I saw them this close up, as I'd imagine such opportunities will be scarce in the future. And, Craig and Jenny, I certainly owe you one for recommending October Drift to me!