Live – The Howlers + Dog of Man + B Spanks at The Hope & Ruin Brighton

The Howlers / Dog of Man / B. Spanks, The Hope and Ruin Brighton, 30th June 2019

Kicking off Sunday night at The Hope and Ruin, B. Spanks put on an impressive one man show, vocally reminiscent of the Pete Shelley school of sardonicism and with a definite nod to the nostalgia of DIY new wave – one to keep an eye out for.

Next on, Brighton locals Dog of Man brought infectious psych punk hooks, much laughter and talk of Stormzy and sweaty men to the table. If Violent Femmes had switched the xylophone on Gone Daddy Gone for an accordion it might have sounded like this. They’ll be back at The Hope and Ruin for their album launch party on 16th August if you want to hear for yourself.

Headliners The Howlers have been making waves on the live circuit with their aggressively energetic shows and have been on my must see list since catching them at Icebreaker and Portsmouth Psych Fest earlier in the year. Recent single La Dolce Vita has helped to cement their reputation as an important part of the new UK underground scene.

Desert rock, garage rock, call it what you will, The Howlers are a force to be reckoned with live, a heady mix of frenetic drums and twanging guitar befitting of a modern day western soundtrack – A Fistful of Reverb in the making perhaps.

There’s still a chance to catch the band on their current run of tour dates throughout July in Nottingham (5th), Manchester (6th), Sheffield (19th), Portsmouth (20th) and Hull (30th). Get along if you can and definitely watch this space – it looks like this is the start of something special.