First, a confession: I have a weakness for dirty garage rock, played at ear-splitting volume in down at heel venues. Dive bars, basement clubs, converted railway arches; the sort of places where they don’t accept plastic over the bar and the toilets resemble the unsanitary hole where Renton craps his opium rectal suppositories down the shitbox in Trainspotting. Brighton trio Strange Cages appear at home in this environment; as they shuffle on to the stage they certainly look the part, with their tousled just-got-out-of-bed-hair and thrift shop chic. And once they tear into the opening number it’s soon apparent that they sound authentic too.
Singer and guitarist Charlie McConnochie has the nonchalant air of someone who’s seen it all before, an old head on young shoulders with a snarly delivery reminiscent of a young Kurt Cobain. On bass Elliott Loughridge is as solid as as a Sherman tank, locked tight into the grooves that provide the foundation for his bandmates to wig out during instrumental sections. Drummer Ellis Dickson can play a bit too, and combines the swagger of Keith Moon with the enthusiasm of Animal from the Muppets.
Strange Cages sound like they’ve been plucked from a scuzzy dive bar in California circa 1967 and transported directly to the Green Door Store. And while they aren’t doing anything new or particularly original, there’s enough potential within tonight’s set to suggest that bigger things await them in 2015.
Paul Sng
@sng_paul
Paul Sng
Latest posts by Paul Sng (see all)
- WATCH: Hayley Ross – Barracuda - March 8, 2016
- Glastonbury 2015: The Good, the Bad and Kanye - July 1, 2015
- ALL TALK: The Problem With Mainstream Hip Hop - June 11, 2015
