PINKSHIFT + GENDER CRISIS + TROI IRONS – PATTERNS, BRIGHTON 21.8.23
Well, it’s taken a while, but this week has finally made it feel like English summer (albeit with a couple of spoiling showers here and there), but the blistering heat and sunny skies has put me in the mood for some live music to match… how about some Pinkshift at Patterns in Brighton?
Despite being an active musical band for only four years, Pinkshift have begun to cement a presence as a vital pop-punk and grunge-revival outfit with the release of their first studio album ‘Love Me Forever’ in 2022, as well as a double single entitled ‘Home’, released at the start of the year.
This is their first UK show in a couple years, so Brighton were proud to host the beginning date in their four-date tour over here, finishing in Glasgow on 27th! Monday’s show was incidentally the first time I’ve ever been to Brighton’s Patterns (after I unfortunately missed Black Country New Road’s comeback show last May!).
An unfortunate halting at the entry for ID checks meant I upsettingly missed the first song of the first support act of the night, the wonderful Troi Irons! Child to Ed Irons, formerly of 70s band Brick, the self-taught and DIY artist has worked great strides in crafting their artistry with the release of their most recent long player ‘Flowers, The Album’ in 2020.
Fortunately, I only missed the first track, so I was still in for a treat! ‘She Loves Me Not’ was my first exposure to Troi, backed only by a Roland drum pad for backing tracks and effects and armed with a Fender electric guitar. This track welcomes me to power pop sensibility and a fantastic hook, as well as a great stage presence from Troi even with them being the only person on stage! The following ‘Dirty Tampon’, a strong moment in the set for me, is introduced as a song revolving around the eventual comeuppance from dating a narcissist, before a more electronic soundscape surrounds the overpowering electric guitar tones. On this track, we are blessed with the sound of Troi’s incredible vocal range as they reach some incredible falsetto moments in the song’s chorus!
The set reaches a somewhat low-key moment on the next track, a cover of The Last Dinner Party’s ‘Nothing Matters’. Now, I’ll admit I have not heard the original, but Troi paints a staggering picture with the sonic background containing realms of electronic chirping and droning ambience. This performance almost makes me not want to go listen to the original, to maintain the purity of Troi Irons’ rendition…!
Troi hops onto the bass guitar for ‘Alexithymia’ (known as emotional blindness often linked to autism), where a thumping drum beat takes hold of the song, as well as queued screams from the crowd on the song’s chorus. As a lover of DIY musical set-ups, I adored Troi’s energy and their vocals in particular, which create the strongest parts of the entire set!
We come to the final track, the amazingly-titled ‘Emotionally Abusive Ballad For The Sun’. Now with neither guitar or bass in hand, Troi is left with their drum pad, emitting a sombre piano sound connected with that distinctive chirping electronic ambience. Weaving these heart-wrenching lyrics for the crowd, Troi slowly struts across the stage before falling to the floor at the very end of the song. Beloved and unique, Troi’s set was an incredibly powerful way to open up the show, and I wish them luck for whatever they’ve planned next!
Troi Irons setlist:
‘You’
‘She Loves Me Not’
‘Dirty Tampon’
‘Nothing Matters’ (The Last Dinner Party cover)
‘Alexithymia’
‘Emotionally Abusive Ballad For The Sun’
Now, bringing the on-stage population to four is the post-hardcore quartet Gender Crisis, a Buckinghamshire-based group who have been relishing the releases of several singles in the past few months, most of which were performed tonight!
The intro track, known simply as ‘Intro (Justice)’ hosts a weighty M83-type synthscape, before guitarist George, bassist Sam and drummer Archie kick off the set with pummelling instrumental backdrop, not to mention their energy leading to a drum mic falling over within one second of organic rhythm. Lead singer Rory eventually makes his way onto the stage for the following ‘Rot’, with a strong playful energy that remains a constant throughout the set. These melting guitars and repeated cries of “Rot! Rot! Rot!” demonstrates the group’s distinction right away, not to mention stellar usages of groove changes which often play significant roles in many a Gender Crisis song.
An electronic backbone supports the introduction of the next track ‘Spit’, before a heavy guitar riff rooted in an open C guitar tuning puts the dynamics in place. Already, Rory is showing his authority as he brings the microphone into the audience for him to yell his lyrics towards the audience members, one by one.
The first of two currently unreleased tracks followed suit, with a more propulsive drum rhythm and call-and-response vocals between George’s shouting vocals and Rory’s melodic singing. This track feels oddly anthemic compared to the rest of the band’s hyper-aggressive sound play, with a great chord structure in the chorus. ‘Noctiphany’ commences with an instruction from Rory for the crowd to crouch in the crowd, and jump on cue, following a quick blast of guitar from George. This track is a prime example of Gender Crisis engaging in immense song structures as the song switches from a speedclock momentum to an ethereal atmosphere in a matter of seconds.
The next track, ‘Dolly’, sees Rory take another jaunt into the crowd stating that “in true Gender Crisis style, we don’t usually have a barrier and we’d like to sing to you guys!”. The song’s deceptively slow opening gives way to a fast rhythm, coupled with Rory’s soft singing (which of course eventually shifts to passionate screaming towards the climax).
Following the rhythmic and volumetric gut-punch that is ‘Dog Bite’, the band’s very first single came the closing track, ‘Die Together (The End)’. Remaining currently unreleased, both this track and the other unreleased song prior to this sit as incredibly moving and effective moments in the set with a remarkable song structure and tight vocal performances; a fitting way to end the set!
Gender Crisis setlist:
‘Intro (Justice)’
‘Rot’
‘Spit’
“Unreleased”
‘Noctiphany’
‘Dolly’
‘Dog Bite’
‘Die Together (The End)’ (currently unreleased)
Once Gender Crisis bid farewell to the crowd, the stage lights started to twist into a thick orange haze, almost shifting the atmosphere as we approached the final act of the night, Baltimore’s own Pinkshift! The quartet of Paul Vallejo on guitar, Myron Houngbedji on drums, touring bassist Michael Stabekis and lead vocalist Ashrita Kumar assemble onto the stage as they bring power to the crowd on the hysteria-inducing opener ‘I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying’. In this one introductory song alone, you can hear many of the quintessential elements that make Pinkshift a unique operating unit, from Ashrita’s monstrous, yet vulnerable vocals, Paul and Michael’s devilish guitar and bass tones, and the ever-so-mechanical drum patterns from Myron.
No time is wasted whatsoever as the band transitions into ‘Nothing (In My Head)’, a track that makes use of heavy guitar chugging in the verses and a solid and eye-widening chorus (plus, there was a sweet little polyrhythmic drum pattern during the song which I absolutely adored!).
The following ‘Burn The Witch’ is preluded by Ashrita with this statement: “we burn systems of oppression, we burn racists and we burn bigots!”. As the song kicks off, Myron steadies the pace with a more post-punk flavoured drum pattern with Michael’s bass carrying a lot of gritty weight in the mix, something that pays off nicely here!
Following a quick kick pedal aid from Gender Crisis drummer Archie (Myron’s had broken mid-song), we come to what were easily the most transcendent and eargasmic highlights of the entire set in the form of the songs ‘Home’ and ‘To Me’. Their most recent release, these two songs compliment each other, both live and on record, with the former track maintaining a thunderous 6/8 marching snare groove and arpeggiating guitar riffs and the latter, while sat within an overall cleaner tone, has a very anthemic feel and demonstrates Ashrita’s bittersweet vocal delivery! ‘Let Me Drown’ sees Pinkshift induce utter chaos with an erratic song structure and blazing drum fills before Ashrita precedes to climb onto the amplifier for the final leg of the track.
“We’re from Baltimore, Maryland, which is very far away! Over there, there’s a lot of issues, you guys don’t like your politicians either right?”
‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’ sees Ashrita bring forward a call of “I don’t want your fake obsessions” to which the crowd replies “I need something real to change!”. By this point in the set, Pinkshift have pretty much won over everybody in the audience, myself included, with Ashrita’s spellbinding energy towards the fans as well as the band’s monolithic sound.
A smooth transition brings us towards ‘Mars’, a song which sees Myron engage in a fantastic implementation of syncopation in the verses, as well as Paul and Michael partaking in luscious harmonies in the chorus! Now, we come to the final song in the main set, ‘Love Me Forever’. This performance is easily the tightest the four-piece have been all night as well as, vocally, the emotional highpoint from Ashrita. We are taken through a multitude of dynamic transitions before a climatic final lyric sung a cappella drives us into an instrumental eruption, closing the set as they depart the stage!
The obligatory chants of “one more song!” bring Pinkshift back for the last cut, ‘Rainwalk’, ending with the same energy as when they started! Despite its title, this final song makes me feel less like I’m walking through the rain, and more like running through a storm with its intense progression and heavy baritone guitar before the band thrash out to their hearts’ content before leaving the stage for the final time!
Admittedly, the new age of pop punk revivalism has never been something that I actively plan or desire to listen to, however, Monday’s trinity of Troi Irons, Gender Crisis and Pinkshift has certainly satisfied me with a night of fantastic hooks, strong performances and great crowd interaction from start to finish… all these acts are totally worth your time!
Pinkshift setlist:
‘I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying’
‘Nothing (In My Head)’
‘Burn The Witch’
‘Home’
‘To Me’
‘Let Me Drown’
‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’
‘I’m Gonna Tell My Therapist On You’
‘Mars’
‘Love Me Forever’
(encore)
‘Rainwalk’
www.pinkshiftmd.com
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