It’s refreshing to start the week with a few beers and a selection of talented acts, prefacing the week ahead with the phrase “good music starts today”. Tonight’s instalment of Mundane Mondays gave us an assortment of noisy punk acts: Shrimpwitch, Cable Ties and Scotdrakula – the latter popping their heads out for one last turbocharged romp before hiding away until Christmas.
Shrimpwitch started the night by busting out some disgusting guitar tones over intriguing chords, backed by rapid one-two thumps on the drums. It was garage punk in its most basic form, sounding exactly like two neighbours playing in a shed without a lick of musical training between them. To their credit, the guitar tone was great for what they were playing and their pisstake stance on issues such as lad culture earned them a thumbs up.
Cable Ties were up next with a surprisingly tight set and spades of outstanding songwriting. Leaving a better taste in your mouth than raw onion, their set featured a slew of hook-filled choruses, smooth transitions and clever bridges. There was no doubt that Cable Ties’ indie-punk vibes enhanced the entire night, earning lingering respect for their clever guitar work, shuffling drums and gravelly bass guitar.
In between rain, beers, and the odd cigarette, Scotdrakula finally hit the stage. The band greeted audience members with happy sounding keys, barked vocals and intricate bass riffs. By track two, I’m Good, they were living up to expectations. Despite confessing to drinking in the sun and listening to slide guitar instead of practicing, nobody could tell. A refreshing thing about Scotdrakula’s set was their dynamic songwriting, refusing to stick to a set style. It was a solid set where rock songs combined with easy flowing tracks and punk rock was laced with psychedelic licks. The whole thing carried an all-too-rare level of intelligence.
As the night wrapped up, Scotdrakula’s punk influences became louder than anything else. Getting righteously savage at the end of the set, three quarters of the band collapsed into each other like a human pretzel while the vocalist barked on.
BY THOMAS BRAND
Loved: Leadership spill.
Hated: It changes nothing.
Drank: Mountain Goat jugs.
