During Alunah’s set, singer Daisy Savage reckons Tellemahookah are the loudest band she’s ever seen. I’d still say Airbourne or Motörhead, personally, but she’s not far wrong.
The local mob are all about the power of the riff – and it won’t be the last time that phrase crops up tonight. What do you expect a song called “The Rise Of The Night Witch” to sound like? Loud, fuzzy and evil, obviously. Quite how three men make such a racket, lord – or maybe Satan – only knows.
Impressively moustached frontman Mark Pickard brings a gothic edge to the likes of “Roam To The Peak Of Unknown”, and Tellemahookah prove to be the perfect opening band: heavy, unpretentious and absolutely committed to the rumble.
Right back at the start of this website, I interviewed an earlier incarnation of Alunah. Twelve years have passed since then, and this version feels more rock than I remember. There’s a real urgency to the set, with new single “La Pucelle”, written about the life of Joan Of Arc, standing out early.
“We’re now gonna play you some new tracks,” says Savage, and they duly thunder. The solo is class, while the next one sounds like it might have been unearthed from the vaults of those sons of this city, Cathedral. So new are these songs that they don’t even have proper titles yet. “LinkedIn Liam” – in honour of a former Chelsea man – is the second, while the first sees Savage wielding a loud hailer.
The forthcoming material – including “Blacklow Hill”, which they end with – seems to herald a new chapter for Alunah. Early indications suggest they are rebooted, retooled and ready for attack.
It’s not a warm evening, but nonetheless Howling Giant drummer Zach Wheeler is shirtless and ready for the off, while bassist Sebastian Baltes has the words “Fuk Ice” sprawled across his instrument. If they’ve never been the usual band from Nashville, this only underlines it.
Essentially, though, they are just a brilliant band with no frills. Aside from a “thanks for coming out”, singer/guitarist Tom Polzine lets the music do the talking.
For the hour they’re on stage – right from the glorious “Canyons” – it shouts very loudly.
“Kami” and “Archon” are studies in riffs, light and shade, and it’s that command of dynamics that makes Howling Giant so special. At their best, on “Sceptre And Scythe” for example, they are untouchable, and “Beholder I: Downfall” merely underlines the point.
Unlike some bands of this type, they don’t simply bludgeon. “Melchor’s Bones” and the like are about peaks and troughs, while “Hunter’s Mark” is a highlight as it rises, floats, then absolutely crushes.
“Sunken City” is perhaps one of their more accessible moments, and although it seems to herald the close, there’s still time for “Whale Lord”.
Let’s be honest, this type of music is always going to belong to the underground. But when it is done this well, that underground feels like exactly the right place to be.
