LIVE FROM THE PIT: Carpenter Brut, Health and Vowws

As far as joint-headline bills go, HEALTH X CARPENTER BRUT seems like a match made in heaven. Both having more than a decade of noisy, electronic experience under their belts, and both wading into the colourful waters of the video game and animation worlds, it seems as though the stars were aligned when they also both dropped new projects in 2026 – HEALTH with R-Type, a monster five-album series of remix albums released between February and April, and CARPENTER BRUT with Leather Temple that came in February. Since spring, they have been touring together through the US, and have now finally ventured over to Europe together to unleash their joint chaos on Wolverhampton.

Up first are Australian death-pop band VOWWS, a duo draped in black and dripping in melancholy. Lit almost entirely from the back, the silhouettes of guitarist Matt James and keyboard player Arezo ‘Rizz’ Khanjani bob to their unique blend of gothic darkwave tracks, meshing synthesised warbling notes with hauntingly beautiful harmonised vocals. They are on stage early, but the crowd showed up just in time to sway and dance along with them. A group of goths in full makeup and attire dance near the front, shuffling next to each other like they’re at a haunted disco. When they announce that they are playing a new song, the crowd cheers enthusiastically, and by the time they leave the stage, the room has warmed up considerably.

When HEALTH takes to the stage, they have no interest in cooling things down. A chugging metal-toned guitar riff from lead touring guitarist Justin McKinney opens their set, as they barrel into newer tracks Vibe Cop and Trash Decade. Blast beats rain down on the venue, courtesy of drummer B.J. Miller, whilst the crystal clear vocals from lead singer and rhythm guitarist Jake Duzsik are applied like a soothing balm over the chaos.

In the first lull of the set, the voice of bassist and producer John Famiglietti comes over the microphone. “Does anyone here like video games and Japanese anime?” He asks, which is quickly met with a mighty roar from the audience. Unsurprising, really – the band have been frequent collaborators on many video game soundtracks over the years. They launch into Major Crimes, a track originally created for the game Cyberpunk 2077, whilst footage from the game’s 2022 anime adaptation plays on the screen behind them. The slower track gives the crowd a welcome reprieve from the chaos that the rest of the set brings, but it isn’t long before the thrashing guitars are back.

Their set is thunderous and atmospheric, at times feeling much bigger than the 1,300 capacity of the venue would have you believe. The crowd lap it up, bouncing around together and dancing in small pockets around the room. When the set ends, Famiglietti launches himself into the crowd (after very politely asking if the audience would catch him), and when the rest of the band leave the stage, he spends the next ten minutes talking to fans and taking selfies with them in a pair of cat ears. It’s hard to imagine that a band that sounds so big would act so down to Earth.

Humility is not something that CARPENTER BRUT – the stage name of French artist Franck Hueso - is aiming for, however. Emerging onto a smoke-filled stage to the grand sound of organs and synths, in front of footage of a crumbling, ruined futuristic cityscape, Hueso takes his place behind the giant, glowing band logo. His touring musicians take their places beside him, as they launch into a mesmerising set of techno-futuristic electronic music.

Whilst it’s difficult to really give much of a performance behind a deck of synths and keyboards, there is no way on Earth that anyone could claim to be bored at a Carpenter Brut show. The lighting is second to none, perfectly synched to every beat of the drum and stab of a key. Spotlights dance and sprawl around the venue, whilst each track has a dedicated visual playing behind them – some are music videos featuring mechanical soldiers and newspaper clippings of a wanted serial killer, others are clips containing lore from the band’s collaborators and character art from past albums. If he gets tired of the whole ‘music’ thing, Hueso has a bright future in putting on light shows and making compilation videos.

Despite being on the second headline set of the night, the crowd is rowdier than ever. Whilst they danced civilly and politely during the first two sets, now a large moshpit is constantly writhing in the centre of the room. At times, specifically when the track Turbo Killer thumps through the speakers, the band gesture for the crowd to part and they do so instantly, crashing together when the music swells again. Even without a single microphone on stage, the band masterfully command control of the room. Just when the fear kicks in that what you’re witnessing might be a cult, the band announce (through a pre-recorded vocal track) that they are about to play their last song. As an unlikely cover of Maniac by Michael Sembello comes through the speakers, the crowd erupts, and when the lights go up it’s as though the spell has been lifted.

As the crown wind down, one thing is for sure – no one in the venue will be forgetting the show that they witnessed tonight. Not for a long time.

Words: Ellen Lovell

Photos: Atoosa Salamat