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Psychedelic Porn Crumpets @ New Century Hall review and gallery – Australian acid rock band goes hard in Manchester

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Featured image and gallery: Ameena Ceesay


Australian group Psychedelic Porn Crumpets brought an eclectic mix of prog, psych and garage rock to the New Century Hall atmosphere, at an early stop in their UK and European tour which saw the group come to Manchester.

Formed in Perth, 2014, the group of friends originally formed the band as a part of frontman Jack McEwan’s university project. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are no stranger to a Manc crowd, having first performed in the city at YES in 2019, and more recently at the 2022 Manchester Psych Fest.

On the night fans were met with a cluttered stage, scattered with guitars, drums, microphones, speakers, and a keyboard taking centre stage. The venue itself was a large assembly space, spacious enough for an indie band, with fans filtering in throughout most of the evening resulting in a packed house by the time the main act came onto the scene  

Acid Dad was the sole supporting act to kick off the show. There was an issue with the vocals being drowned out by the guitars and drums, but the music itself was energetic, and the lighting and visuals were better than they had any right to be.

They definitely made a good impression on the audience, so by the time PPC came on, they were buzzing in excitement. We then get an operatic interlude with a miniature tortoise on a chair, and from then on, all hell breaks loose

As early as the first ten minutes, mosh pits and crowd surfing ensues, in response to PCC’s heavier tracks such as ‘Acid Dent’ and ‘Mundungus.

The band’s heavier material was the focus of the night, with their psychedelic songs being put on the back burner, making for a lot of fallen bodies. As a general rule of thumb among rock and metal audiences, when you get knocked down, someone is there to pick you back up. Same rule applied for this gig and to the crowd’s credit, they remained vibrant and invested throughout.

From there, we hear throwbacks like ‘Cornflake’, as well as new material. The band’s performance of their latest track ‘Nootmare (K-I-L-L-I-N-G) Meow’ was well received. As the focus remained on the heavy, there was no cool down period, but the closest we got was with their song ‘Marmalade March’. However this was less a reflection of the song itself, having more to do with the audience needing to catch a breather.

If you’re looking for easy listening and relatively un-sticky floors then this wasn’t the gig for you. However, the electricity of the audience and the band made for an amazing night nonetheless, especially if garage rock is more your speed.


Psychadelic Porn Crumpets performing at New Century Hall, Manchester

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Ameena Ceesay

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