Live
Rews + ARXX
The Prince Albert, Brighton
March 8 2018
Words/Pictures: Steve Willcox
Having seen London/Belfast-based pop-rock duo Rews at Camden Rocks in London last year and been suitably impressed, the opportunity to see them nine months later in Brighton was not to be turned up, especially as after receiving extensive radio play in the intervening period, along with the release of debut album 'Pyro', their name has shifted up a notch.
Tonight there's a healthy number of punters crammed into the small room above a pub mostly known for its outside wall murals of Banksy’s two gay kissing policemen and its graffiti homage of famous rock stars that fill the whole side of a wall. First on stage are local duo ARXX. I was worried as they took to the stage that their set would be too similar to the Rews, as both bands feature two female members in a drums and guitar set up.
Luckily for us this was far from the case. Vocalist Hannah Pidduck and drummer Clara Townsend are more subversive in their outlook, maintaining a nice balance of raucous energy and indie pop sensibilities. Hannah’s voice is almost spoken word at times but you can tell she was brought up with country music being played in the house, with her tone ranging from spoken word to punk/country; and along with Clara’s beats, it makes for a great set. My favourite moment was when they segued Trump’s “pussy” comment into their song ‘Intervention’ which was about dickheads and crass people. Latest single ‘Tired Of You’ was great to hear played live and it certainly made the audience react and loosen their dancing feet, with its thrashing, catchy energy, loud and gritty vocals and fierce beats.
As ARXX close their short and sweet opening set, the room is now filling up in anticipation of the headliners. Known for their high energy live shows, when Rews finally take to the stage and launch straight into ‘Rip Up My Heart’, there's no messing as vocalist/guitarist Shauna Tohill’s voice packs a clear punch through the crowd, making all the rock moves with that guitar that we love to see, mashed in with a fast drumbeat delivery of Collette Williams - probably the world's prettiest drummer ever, apart from Metallica’s Lars Ulrich of course.
‘Can You Feel It’ brings some hard emotion into the fore and it comes across really well, as Shauna sings of letting go of the hurt inside after a break up. Last year's debut single ‘Miss You In The Dark’ brings some edgy lyrics with Shauna’s powerful voice alongside some hard hitting drums. With this number it's easy to hear why BBC 6 Music's Mark Radcliffe described them as a "female Royal Blood".
It’s not until ‘Death Yawn’ that the crowd begins to really loosen up, however, and release their inner rockers as Shauna shreds her guitar magnificently, and by the time they blast into riff-driven anthem ‘Your Tears’, a mosh pit ensues with plenty of dancing, growing in size throughout.
In the final third of the set things get a bit hairy. During ‘Running’, Colette’s microphone decides to turn 180-degrees, forcing her to crouch over and sing the vocals whilst trying to hit those beats with her head at an angle, but she took it well and was laughing all the way through.
Forthcoming new single ‘Shake Shake’ - released next month - makes the whole audience dance along with its pop chants, edgy riffs and those raucous drum, during the girls into another burst of energy. The unflinching ‘Shine’, another from 'Pyro', was great to hear live and justifiably appreciated by the crowd. The set ends but the crowd were not letting them get away so easily, their rapturous applause bringing them back on to play ‘We Explode’.
Both Rews and ARXX tonight showed us what a sad place the world would be without the femme side of rock pulsing through our ears, and with it being International Women’s Day, it was quite apt to see these four feisty ladies smash the roof off the Prince Albert.
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