Wormboys, Tiger Island, Etheriel

Wharf Chambers

Who could resist a Wednesday night West Yorkshire triple bill at the ever-wonderful Wharf Chambers?

Certainly not Uncle Grumpy - so camera in hand and ears washed out, it was time for a leisurely stroll across town to one of the many venues we're blessed with in Leeds who aren't afraid to showcase interesting, unusual and challenging (in a good way) artists. I'll bang on about this while I've breath in my body but it's these grass-roots venues that develop, nurture and enhance new music - protect them at all costs.

Rant over - what was on the musical menu tonight? Bradford's Etheriel opened with an intense set, mixing original material with some pounding versions of carefully curated covers including Pixies, Bunnymen and Jeff Buckley. As great as these were, their own brooding shoegazey soundscapes stood out for me - perfectly accompanied by Kit Watson's projections adding an extra dimension to the evening's performances. Sadly, Etheriel announced this was their last gig for a while but hopefully this is a short sabbatical and they're back at it soon.

Tiger Island from Wakefield were up next and definitely brought the party. They did exactly what it says on the tin in terms of the pre-show poster: "garage punk, massive riffs, pounding drums and tunes you can actually dance to". They provided huge energy and the best moustache of the evening - no competition (unless they ever gig with Thank?)

The headliners were the seemingly impossible to pigeonhole Wormboys; delivering a wholly unique sound. Every time I thought I detected an influence I had to remind myself "yeah but produced by Slint". Think pastoral pop and post-rock heading for the coast in a hot-wired Morris Traveller. Fear and Loathing in Reighton Gap. "We were somewhere around Baslow on the edge of the Peak District when the Earl Grey began to take hold..." Apologies - I digress. 

The set featured a fair few new tracks many of which appeared darker and angrier than their previous releases, but we live in darker and angrier times so it's only natural this finds an outlet in the artistic output. 

A shout of "Oh I LOVE this song!" during the intro to most-recent-release ‘Mostly Still’ evidences not only the support the band enjoy but just how damn catchy their tunes are (nope not doing it, not gonna mention earworms!). The slower tracks like this really allow the band space to highlight the sounds and styles that help to make them unique, with recent addition ‘Dirt’ being an absolute standout for me. Sop's emotionally charged vocals exuding a powerful fragility; tearing deep into the heart, while Harry's needle-sharp guitar stitches the fissures back together. As the song builds the audience is treated to vocals from both singers with the joint delivery complementing each other wonderfully.

As a demonstration of the diverse range of ideas and sounds the band can deliver, one point in the set features Jake jazzily shuffling around the drum kit with a pair of brushes. At other times Harry is emulating a theremin with just his effects pedals. Throughout it all Ruth ties it together with one elegant bassline after another. 

There's something really special about this band. Hopefully the new material makes it to their Bandcamp page soon and there's more gigs and radio airplay in the near future!

Words and pictures by Rusty Li