Featured image: Jess Berry
Far from the sweaty scenes that usually haunt YES Basement, this midweek crowd stands sensibly paced, weather appropriate jackets still donned. For opener, three-piece ‘The Shaking Hands’, social-distancing is still observed.
It’s slow, sad rock that greets you. Without pause, the trio play for ten minutes at a time. Whilst not clear where one song begins and another ends, the ambient reverb echoes through the venue like the soundtrack to a Channel 4 drama. Depending on your mood, it could be a bit dire. There’s a sense that an audience isn’t required for their jam session.
Announcing their arrival, it’s made clear that TV Priest have been in the audience the whole time. They unceremoniously clamber onto the short stage to set up their gear, it’s very down to earth. The crowd is littered with mustaches and tote bags, leading one to believe that you’re simply not cool enough for this kind of gig. It’s the 4th show on their “work-in-progress shows of new (and old) music” tour, and the guinea pigs gather here.
Opening with ‘Bury Me In My Shoes’’, bassist Nic Bueth leads us into a spellbinding cacophony of punk. It does feel like a sermon, lead Charlie Drinkwater performs like a man possessed; eyes closed and hands shaking with the music.
Drinkwater’s thick voice carries a theatrical husk, he’s a thrilling watch. There’s synthy keys and a rough yet mature feel to their performance. He jokes that they’ve peppered the new material through out so “no-one can fuck off”. It goes down a treat. Making reference to the unfortunate timing of their album releases, coinciding with the pandemic, Drinkwater tells us how refreshing it is to trial songs before they release a record. He offers a questionnaire at the end of the show.
Playing fan favorites such as ‘Press Gang’ and ‘Limehouse Cut’, they weave between personal experiences and politics. Unreleased ‘Just So You Know’ begins with a screeching synth that transports you into an Ari Aster film.
During ‘There’s a Place’, Drinkwater abandons the mic to sing to us acoustically. His voice is raw and nourishing, and only YES Basement could accommodate for an intimacy like this.
It’s bizarre to see a band climb off and back on a stage for an encore, but it’s a further nod to the seclusion of the night. They finish on ‘Decoration’, forcing the younger half of the crowd into dancing and thrashing.
Joined by drummer Stephanie, much to the delight of the crowd, the 4-man band are faultless. Perfectly suited to a dimly lit basement on a wintery Wednesday, TV Priest provide full-bodied post-punk that transcends generations. There’s no date attached to these new releases as of yet, but it’s well worth tuning in to.
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