Live
The Murder Capital + Egyptian Blue
Prince Albert, Brighton
February 3 2019
Words/Pictures: Steve Willcox
Hitting many a 'Ones To Watch' in 2019 list - including Little Indie's own - The Murder Capital have come charging out of Ireland along with Fontaines D.C., to lead the way of the new Irish rock vanguard. And tonight they are planning to kick up a riot in Brighton.
But first, local lads Egyptian Blue warm up the room, and it soon becomes apparent that they have undergone something of a change since I last caught them a couple of years ago. Smart lyrics, great hooks and a drumbeat you could set your watch to, with vocalist Andy Buss and guitarist Leith Ambrose working well on harmony combination in an edgy Buzzcocks way, they have certainly upped their game. Set highlights ‘Collateral’ with its duo riffs, and the jarring guitars and laddish vocals of previous single ‘To Be Felt’, made this a support well worth an early arrival.
The Murder Capital come on to the stage with the speakers all spewing out feedback like a war cry for battle. These Dublin boys have a mean, hungry look in their eyes while they play, with vocalist James McGovern’s menacing persona (all booted up like a skinhead from the 70s), they look like a band you wouldn't want to be messin' with any time soon. They launch into ‘Gravedigger’ with its shout out lyrics and pounding bass while the guitars are being beaten to death with some high volumed riffs. ‘More Is Less’ begins with guitarist Damian Tuit locking heads with bassist Gabriel Paschal Blake as they both try to outplay each other, as James stares menacingly into crowd, spitting out the punk energy of the lyrics until “and I love it” when there’s a pause and the chorus begins with a lot more urgency in the tempo.
‘Green and Blue’ starts with a steady bass intertwined with the drums of Diarmuid Brennan with guitars slowly fading in, as James comes uncomfortably close up to lead guitarist Cathal Roper while he’s playing some sharp guitar riffs, as though he’s edging for a fight. The atmosphere in the room is electrified; it’s like you can’t tell what’s gonna happen next. ‘Slow Dance Part 1‘ shows the band in a different light as the tone alters and vocals are softer but with foreboding menace; ‘Part 2’ is where it picks up in musical pace, but only the vocals remain the same.
‘On Twisted Ground’ and ‘Don’t Cling To Life’ both show what a class act these lads are with soaring guitar riffs and pulsating rhythm, along with intense, scathingly delicious vocals. The finale of this memorable set comes with their recently released official debut single ‘Feeling Fades’. Thunderous beats back guitar interplay behind the raw passion in James’s vocals as they all move as one around the stage like a group of hyenas getting ready for the kill. You better be prepared to lock up your sons and daughters because these lads are going places!
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