London – Four-piece alternative rock band Race the Flux, from Galway in the Republic of Ireland, first came to the attention of Best New Bands when the band’s entry to the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition found its way onto your judge’s spreadsheet. The band was duly selected as one of three acts to go forward to the next stage. Sadly, the Glasto journey ended there for the Irishmen, but not without them garnering new fans and accolades along the way. This night was the band’s debut London gig in the modest but sociable surrounds of The Old Blue Last, which once housed a brothel.
Now this is in downtown Shoreditch – the happening part of town if you are in Tech or the Arts – and apart from the expectation that every other person would be sporting a fine beard (and that’s just the girls), the main learning point was don’t attempt to drive there from SW London on a rainy night before the Easter weekend. Suffice it to say that Race the Flux had already taken the stage by the time we made it into the venue. The other point was that it was well worth the trip. With a set list drawn from its recent EP, Olympians, and three new songs including the new single, “Matty Rusko,” Race the Flux displayed a level of raw energy that defied the physics of a pocket-sized square stage. Comprising of lead singer and guitarist Joe Padfield, flanked by the guitars of Paul Higgins and bass of Enda Stritch, with drummer Ronan Connaughton stationed behind centre, Race the Flux did its best to occupy every inch of this diminutive dais.
The set kicked off with “Olympus Mons,” a suitably combative song which has been used by the Munster rugby team as their pitch entrance music for the current season. A sense of dynamics was quickly instilled as the band moved from loud to quiet passages with consummate ease and control. “Big Fig,” the Glastonbury ETC entry song, followed with its staccato rhythms and ensemble set pieces underlying just how difficult this stuff is to play let alone deliver with tight precision. Padfield’s vocals rose above the intricacy of the instrumentation to deliver passion with gusto, aided by harmonies when needed from his three bandmates.
After airing an equally impressive brace of new material, the anthemic “Go! Dive! Ahh!” revealed more of the band’s signature expansive sound; big, bold, experimental and able to mesh disparate elements into a unified and explosive outcome. A surprising component was how the rhythms of traditional Irish music were bedded in towards the end of the song. Throughout the set, the band maintained a rare on-stage connection with each other – a strong bond that allowed them to leap around and still keep control of the music and deliver light and shade in between bouts of tuneful cacophony. New single “Matty Rusko” and closing song “Breathe” set the seal on an accomplished, dynamic performance.
It was unfortunate that Race the Flux’s set was foreshortened by three songs as earlier stage times were extended. You felt you could have listened to more of this and still not be sated. One of the drawbacks of playing a certain class of live music venue is the suspicion that proprietors want the place to be rammed for as long as possible, so they can sell more drink and promoters comply by shoe-horning three bands and a DJ set into the evening. No matter this night. Race the Flux will surely be gracing bigger venues very soon, and London should give them a huge welcome on the band’s return.
Race the Flux’s new single, “Matty Rusko” is out now. Follow Race the Flux on Facebook and Twitter.
Photography by Ruth Geraghty
Tony Hardy
Tony’s great passion in life is music and nothing gives him more pleasure than unearthing good, original new music and championing independent musicians. His association with Best New Bands brings great opportunities for this. He also writes for Consequence of Sound and is a judge for Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition.
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