Featured image: Layla Caine

Cowbells and proggy synthpop, anyone?

With a stacked bill, the night promises to warm your cockles and shelter from the impending doom of market season in Manchester. If you can find the venue room, tucked away in an unassuming hallway, it’s a cosy affair. That is until our first support act of the night booms into your ears – reminding you of your age as you fumble in your bag for earplugs.

Blythe are unashamedly out of place, and they set an impossible-to-meet bar for the show. Rumour has it they mistook the billing for KOYO of Long Island – a hardcore group with obvious similarities. With relentless guitars and booming vocals, the energy of the room is amped up further than the ceiling turret can hold. At some point in the set, the drummer makes a quick shirt change. It’s hardly noticed amidst the angsty, raspy vocals that keep at least three front-and-centre fans locked in a cathartic trance throughout. Moshing never looked so freeing.

Blythe are anarchy incarnate and a tough act to follow. Outside, the guitarist Ethan says they’ve just booked a gig in New York. Only two of the band members have flights, but the rest will smooth itself out later. These Manc locals are going places, Aer Lingus be damned. 

Slow Loris are up next, and as the name suggests, there’s a bit of a tone change. From grungey nu-metal, to rhythmic math rock – we have it covered tonight at The Castle. 

There’s depth to their work, largely instrumental, with fun influences pulled from the likes of cricket and Rey Mysterio. Slow Loris also hail from Leeds. Playing longer, laid back tunes, the rhythm guitarist seems caught in a meditative state. Hits include ‘Special Mode’, a synth heavy piece that gets you swaying.

Enter Oscar Bryant and The BlueBirds. With a name like Oscar Bryant, who could resist naming a band in your honor? The BlueBirds are introduced respectively, a five piece practically wearing their 70s influences. In their songs you can hear the influences of Steely Dan, The Stones, and perhaps more recently, No Hot Ashes. ‘Confused State’ is a danceable, prosaic indie anthem that should elicit more movement than is possible shoulder to shoulder in a pub venue. 

Our headliners emerge from the crowd, seeming to age the room as the younger demographic is quietly replaced with the ‘it’s a bit late for a weeknight’ gang. Layth Ibrahim on bass takes centrestage, wordlessly. The energy needed to stand in the spotlight can’t be mustered by Jacob Price on sampling and synths – there’s only so much audience rousing one can do with his prized cowbell. 

Huw Edwards, lead vocalist for the quartet, dons huge sunglasses to reinforce their futuristic feel. Elements of prog are offset by electro synthpop, and their sound is firmly their own. ‘Electric Eel’ and ‘Mechanical Bull’ have a sly feel to them, the bass through the floor provokes Pink Panther-style sneaking around. Tom Higham gets his big break during a drumming solo that leaves pints fallen from hands.

To the cries of “one more song” the band falter in choosing an encore. There’s discourse around doing ‘Jettisoned’, as talk on stage insinuates ‘Walking on Air’ would have been far more fun. It’s fun regardless, aside from the occasionally smug feel of the experimental riffs. Koyo might win you a few pretentious points for your niche music knowledge, but the talent is palpable.

Such a mixed bag might seem hard to digest, but how often can you wander into a pub after work and catch everything from hard punk to electro rock? The art of curation isn’t lost on promoters Bad Saint. You can catch their next endeavor at The Rat & Pigeon on November 30th.