LIVE FROM THE PIT: Desire/Lines, Tailblock and Retail Parks
Updated: 55 minutes ago
On a Tuesday night in mid-September, you'd expect people to be avoiding the creeping longer nights or watching the Bake-Off. But at The Lady Luck in Canterbury dozens of people mill about inside and out, here to cheer on their homegrown bands and find the best upcoming music from Kent.
Five-piece RETAIL PARKS are first to warm up the crowd, fuzzed guitar ringing out on Aim Up while lead singer Jack Saunders paced back and forth into the front row for alt-emo anthem You Are My Blood as cymbals build to a wall of crashing noise, the track fading to a melancholic guitar note. Saunders threw his head back to deliver vocal screams on Foundations, the instrumentals dropping to a heavier tone as their bassist headbanged enthusiastically and led them into faster Circle and Love Unknown, switching up the pace and tone of their set that drew the crowd in, the lyrics “I couldn't be more proud” hitting hard for everyone. Saunders paused for the intro of Flowers Will Bloom to admire the RETAIL PARKS duo guitarists before singing beside the front row of the audience again, until a recorded intro shattered by drums announced their finale Grim, the emotionally charged track closing out to echoing harmonies and loud applause.
Genre-defying trio TAILBLOCK stepped up to the plate next, immediately launching into a frenzy of riffs and thrashed beats on Trying, a track with weighty lyrics that call out self-made victims, before racing into Social Hand Grenade that has elements of early FOO FIGHTERS in its guitar notes, crackling bass and thumping, effortlessly paced drums from percussionist Ella Delamare. Vocalist Gary Ptaszek drops down an octave on Somewhere In Between before ramping back up on the chorus, bassist Jak Coleman whipping his head back as he slammed through bass notes. Coleman and Delamare swapped funny faces and laughs on Being Weird, before they collectively launched into their recently released single MSN, the poignant words looking back on a bad situation and wishing they could go back and try again. Things sped up for new single Make The Most Of It and I'll Be Your Right Arm, the trio looking much more relaxed and at home on the cosy stage as the crowd became more animated, leading up to their closer Gather Up Your Good Luck, an emo-pop-punk melody that rocketed through right to the end.
The Lady Luck is filled back to the doors now, to the point fans are having to stand practically on the side of the stage just to get a glimpse of headliners DESIRE/LINES. Describing themselves as “fuzz” rock, the homegrown Canterbury quartet weave inspired grunge rhythms into iconic emo hooks and sentiments, an enigmatic backing track introducing their set before they launched into unreleased, gritty track Thin As A River, swiftly followed by Morning Is A Turn Of The Page, Grant Bailey bringing frenetic rhythms that give no room to rest as guitarist Marc Prentice wielded his weapon in front of the drumkit in a show of musical connection. Static guitar crept in before it was obliterated by Jasmine Marceau’s staggering bass lines on Atlas, their latest released single that’s teased at promising sights on the horizon for DESIRE/LINES, with James Drouot injecting a soulful ache into his vocals on “tell me that I’m good enough” as the track built to a breakdown more akin to post-hardcore rather than fuzzed grunge.
Drouout paused mid-set to thank everyone sincerely for coming out, glowing smiles on his and Marceau’s faces, even grins breaking Prentice and Bailey’s stoicness as the audience applauded loudly and shouted their names. It’s clear the camaraderie extends beyond the stage, the crowd full to the brim with their friends, loved ones, and even members of RETAIL PARKS and TAILBLOCK staying behind to support them. Buoyed by the welcoming energy, they struck chords and distorted vocals for Imposter Syndrome, drums steadily building to a rhythm that strayed from the status quo, breaking almost immediately into Breathing Space and its time-centric melody emulating 90s fuzzed grunge. DESIRE/LINES broke from their standard setlist to treat the crowd to unreleased tracks Marc and Whale, an inescapable swaying spreading through the crowd to the enigmatic music. Closing out to Cinero, DESIRE/LINES give a final thank you to deafening applause from a crowd pushed up to their speakers in an attempt to fit more fans in the snug venue. Tonight was an opportunity for the band to showcase exactly why they're destined for bigger things - no one left disappointed.
Photos and words: Julia Stark
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