Wrangler at Rough Trade East

The eclectic analogue electronica trio known as Wrangler came to Rough Trade East to showcase their dark, eccentric and abstract vision of new wave electronic last night. Curious as we were about these relative unknowns, they were near mute between songs, allowing their interesting music to do all the talking.

Wrangler kicked off the show by dimming the house lights, neon blue shining on stage. One of the trio came on to play a droning bass, with dissonant ambient sounds fluttering behind it, hypnotising the crowd and drawing them towards the stage. After several minutes, the remaining members joined: Stephen Mallinder played synth keyboards, while the others tackled electronic drum pads, synth bass and backup.

Overall, their sound is a mix of electronic , new wave and industrial with a twist of Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode: like the kind of music you might hear in a sci-fi horror flick or in some Philip Dick-inspired setting. They busted out cool electronica improvisations that got the crowd grooving. The trio reminded us of the Blue Man Group with their eccentric stage presence and sound, but obviously without the pipes, marshmallows and blue paint…

Not much is known about these gents as a trio just yet, but they definitely have what it takes to impress the audience with music that is all about listening with an artistic and open-minded ear. It would have been complete if Wrangler had had a screen behind them featuring visuals that coincided with the music, but they did enough with their instruments to enthrall. What a thing to witness.

 Joe Hoffman

For further information and future events visit Wrangler’s website here.

Watch Wrangler perform Lavaland live here: