Odd Box presents Savage Island, The Greenback Mantra, Sink Ya Teeth at The Murderers, Norwich 11 December 2015

Oddbox always puts on great gigs with strong line-ups and this one was no exception, featuring Girl in a Thunderbolt’s new incarnation: Sink Ya Teeth, Aylesbury’s Greenback Mantra, and local sensations Savage Island.

Sink Ya Teeth put in a really impressive debut, Gemma and Maria having an obvious musical chemistry and shared vision, it was powerful, tight and mesmerising. Lots of heavy bass grooves, synth and percussion with Maria’s unique voice over the top of it all and a slightly sinister mood to some of the songs, really impressive stuff from two of Norwich’s wonderfully talented and creative artists. The set had variety, melody plus heaps of atmosphere and interest. I look forward to seeing Sink Ya Teeth again soon. I just think they are doing something unique in the city, something dark and sinister with clever layers and percussion, with a good dynamic between them.

A completely new name to were Aylesbury’s The Greenback Mantra, I really wasn’t sure what to expect when singer Tom took to the mic in a long overcoat clutching a notebook of lyrics and announced “Hello you fuckers!” as the band launched into a really powerful groove with some Fall-esque repetition. I loved this band, some aspects of them took me back to my favourite aspects of the 80s underground music. Tom’s delivery was spot-on whilst the guitar and drums were sensational in a dirty, garage kind of way. I spoke with several friends afterwards all of whom loved them and all of whom picked out entirely different influences ranging from the likes of Can and Neu! whilst I was also picking up on The Fall and Screaming Blue Messiahs though The Greenback Mantra do very much their own thing with a healthy amount of attitude. A nice discovery for my ears, thanks Odd Box for the introduction!

I saw Savage Island play a short support slot in front of just a few dozen people at the NAC a few weeks ago and was impressed not just with their songs but the way they still gave it their all with great energy. Nothing prepared me for tonight though. They have a devoted following growing and the place suddenly started to feel very full when they took to the stage at 10:45pm. For well over an hour they played a blistering set and there were great scenes in The Murderers. I did not see one person sitting down, everyone was dancing and at the back people were standing (and dancing) on the chairs and tables to get a better view. Really a rare sight to behold. They play with a very pleasing confidence and as a band have great charisma.  Every instrument is well played and sits in the mix perfectly with a great sound in The Murderers tonight (Thanks Bill!) and lovely atmosphere. At times the sound strayed from rock to Balkan and Polka which only cranked up the great atmosphere further. Varied, fascinating, engaging and more than competent it showed that the band were having as much fun as the audience who revelled in the sound of frenetic brass, guitar, bass and drums. Another must-see band on the Norwich circuit. A fun night with plenty of mutual respect and appreciation between the bands.

Special mention to the band’s drummer who apparently only had eye surgery a few days earlier yet still managed to put in a sensational and energetic performance. True rock hero!

A really terrific gig, I was proud to have one of my photos attached to it in the poster! 🙂

Savage Island:

Formerly known as ‘Juke & the All Drunk Orchestra’

“What we have here is rock ‘n’ roll played with savage, primitive intensity. Eerie vocals, groovy horns, and drums pounded with a Herculean verve. A sinister landscape of Lounge-Core and Exotic Trash awaits. So welcome to the twisted world of Juke & the All-Drunk Orchestra.” -ixnayray, Way Past Cool podcast,  Garagepunk.com

“An impressively bold and energetic helping of brass-soaked rock’n’roll and the best record to come out of Norwich since…er…anyone from Norwich want to help me out here?” – Norman Records (Double LP review)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loq_y3HJWRQ
 https://soundcloud.com/savageisland/were-not-alone
 https://soundcloud.com/savageisland/howling-at-the-moon

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The Greenback Mantra:

Improvisational heavy groove psych with Jesus Lizard-tinged vocal wildness and an incendiary live show!

These guys are coming up from Aylesbury, and have members formerly from Black Moses (with Jim Jones) and currently from the great Black Juju.

 https://soundcloud.com/the-greenback-mantra/damnhand
 https://soundcloud.com/the-greenback-mantra/indecision
 https://soundcloud.com/the-greenback-mantra/lessmaterial

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Sink Ya Teeth:

‘Primal new wave synth pop!’

Gemma, former bass player of ‘KaitO’ and Maria aka ‘Girl in a thunderbolt’ have recently formed a new music project called ‘Sink ya teeth’ – This is their debut gig! 😀

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iTg21_Awz8

Many thanks to Savage Island, Greenback Mantra, Sink Ya Teeth, and Georgie at Odd Box, plus Bill on sound.

Review, photos, video by R. Shashamane 2015

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