Loom + Black Honey + PROM
The Barfly, London
June 15 2015
Words: Linn Branson
Photos: Simon Coker
One of XFM regular Xposure Live nights hosted by John Kennedy, (which features new and upcoming acts whose sets are later broadcast on John's show) tonight sees London's PROM, together with Brighton wunderkinds Black Honey, and London-by-way-of-Leamington Spa's death starers Loom play to the ears of a discerning capital crowd at Camden's Barfly.
Post-punkers PROM lead off the night. The London four-piece, who formed last year and are fronted by the fierce frontwoman Angela Won-Yin Mak, come over as a tight unit who exude an infusion of grunge, metal and goth with a touch of classic rock. With her supplying the gripping vocals, and guitarist Pip Stakem striking out on some menacing guitar riffs, they have the look and sound to take them further.
Second female fronted band of the night are Black Honey, and in Izzy Bee they have a dominate focal presence, both visually (tonight sporting platinum locks twinned with thigh- and eye-catching shorts) and vocally. Mixing up touches of grunge and noise pop, they open with ‘Spinning Wheel’, all surfy guitars and in which she sets the seal for the rest of the set, conjuring up both emotion ripped force and languid ease through the captivating ‘Sleep Forever’ and the 60s shimmer fuzz of 'Teenager' - a highlight tonight - their first uploaded online tracks which brought them to first notice, receive well-deserved whistles of approval.
When Loom arrive as the night's headliners it's a surprisingly small crowd that has stayed after Black Honey. Why this should be one can only surmise that either due to it being a school night they all had to dash off early, or that Loom's reputation had preceded them.
Having now watched this band for coming up to three years, I am going to say that I think they have played the 70s punk ethic a little too strongly. For sure, too much exposure can ruin a band's chances before they even get to the second single, but in Loom's case they have taken it to the nth degree. Consequently, we know nothing about them as a unit; we hear no voices emerging from the other members of the band - and hardly much more from Tarik Badwan either, come to that - and after three years remain as largely anonymous as they did at the start. That and their macho style, that makes them more of a bloke's band, I feel are two reasons why Loom are not bigger than they are.
It's certainly not that they are a rubbish outfit, far from it; neither is it their calibre of material, as evidenced as they kick off this set tonight with ‘Leopard’ ‘Salt’ and ‘Lice’. With such a strong front figure as Badwan, it's sometimes easy to forget this is a band, and not Badwan and four backing musicians. I have said on previous occasions how the two guitarists here, Josh Fitzgerald and Matt Marsh, are an integral part of this group, yet they are almost pushed aside in the maelstrom of their lead singer. Personally, I would like to see them coming to the forefront a lot more. Watching Marsh's fretwork moves this evening was at times mesmerising, and you become aware how good a pair of musicians they are.
Along with their cover of The Jesus Lizard’s ‘Seasick’ - a song ideally cut out for this band - the newly constructed ‘Bleed On Me’ still stresses urgency with its frenetic chugging riffs. Though the absence of 'Get A Taste' and 'Yosoko' are noticed, it is made up for by a couple of new tracks: new single, the force-driven 'Hate', 'Barbed Wire' and a quite impressive (provisionally titled) 'Doom'. Harnessing the visceral power of the band, it also - like 'Yosoko' - adds a melody that takes it beyond the cut, thrash and bash of much of their repertoire, and would, I imagine, lend itself to wider appeal.
With their debut album due shortly, if Loom can produce more of the same, become a little more approachable and let their fans feel a more tangible connection to the band, then future prospects augur well.
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