By DJ Astrocreep

A slight departure from most of my recent gigs, tonight’s show will take the 80s alternative electronica feel of Drab Majesty with a single support act in SRSQ. Both acts coming from North America, with a similar feel, should make for good tour mates, so the 70 mile round trip is undertaken again so I can get my Goth on to the New Romantic upstarts. 

SRSQ at Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 19 September 2019

Our support for the evening is SRSQ, on her own first tour outside of North America. A solo artist, using backing and effects, I spend most of her set trying to decide quite what to make of her. Vocally, SRSQ is quite strong, whilst clever use of effects for both chorus and pitch changing adds the depth to the vocal side that could have otherwise been missing. Musically, there seems to be a heavy Kate Bush mashed with electronica feel, which works well meshed together. She clearly fully believes in her own music, dancing along to it in between vocal parts, which adds a fair bit of authenticity to the set, especially for the previously uninitiated. The set peaks with the penultimate song and it’s with this track that you see a lot more of those around me get into the music more, certainly more than with the other songs. The capacity crowd take well to her, both welcoming and appreciative with each track and most giving their full attention, meaning the atmosphere is perfect to calm the nerves that show on a couple of occasions. An apt and able support act.

Drab Majesty at Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 19 September 2019

On to our headline act then, as the humidity rises even further still as Drab Majesty take to the stage. Within a couple of songs, half of the crowd is a mess of writhing, dancing bodies with the occasional pillar of land as someone only nods their head instead. Even stood against a side wall as I am, there is barely space to breathe, all adding into a sweat-sodden, pulsating atmosphere. The lighting and sound are immaculate right through, the slight hint of fogging helping the lights achieve an optimal level without becoming overpowering for the those of us in the audience. Contrasting blue and red lights used at times give a very 80s feel, supplimenting the feel of the music even further still.

Drab Majesty at Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 19 September 2019

The music is hypnotic, the reason for the aforementioned writing and swaying bodies that makes the standing room much more of a dance floor, perhaps reminiscent of the renowned Slimelight club night in London in the mid-80s, when Depeche Mode, The Cure and the other obvious influences for Drab Majesty came into their own. As mentioned in my review of the album, the music feels more like an ode to, rather than a wholesale rehash of those bands, with this still coming across as well live as the album does blasting in my ears with headphones. The obvious single ‘Oxytocin’ is early in the set, rather surprisingly, rather than kept as an ending, though the sheer song quality right the way through, be it the faster or slower numbers, all feel like they have an equal claim to have been the single instead. Some of the slower tracks even have a Thompson Twins feel, circa ‘Hold Me Now’, showing that their influence is possibly felt as strongly as some of the other acts mentioned above. The whole show feels like a performance, like a happening rather than a gig. The band may not move much on stage but they don’t need to – it is all about the music and ambience, both of which are incredible. This is a gig I will be feeling the blues after for a number of days.

  • PHOTO CREDIT: Photos by the author.
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