The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


CultureMusicLive music

Baby Strange at Camden Barfly

Baby Strange at Camden Barfly | Live review
4 June 2014
Joe Manners Lewis
Joe Manners Lewis
Avatar
Joe Manners Lewis
4 June 2014

Influences fly off the tongue when talking about Baby Strange. The Clash’s jangling reverb guitars and choral shouts mix with the raw power of early The Stooges and the speed and intensity of Ramones. In fact, when the Glaswegian trio kick into a song like Friend at Camden’s Barfly it’s easy to see the band’s punk rock credentials and that they’ve certainly been listening to the right people.SAMSUNG CSC

Establishing themselves from their first few shows in 2012 as ones to watch in coming years, their audience is already a dedicated one, despite the band keeping conversation to a minimum. Their opening track Violate Me has the crowd immediately enraptured, mimicking the low tones of Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster and giving a glimpse of the darkness the trio attempt to muster over the next 40 minutes.

New single Distance Yourself makes attempts at outward anger (“they try to take our life/they try to take our fun”) but ends up a little unfocused, while a fun cover of Peter, Bjorn & John works just as well after being sufficiently corrupted by the band.

Musically, Baby Strange provide exactly what you’d expect from a three-piece punk act: distorted guitars and rhythmic bass lines don’t allow for that much variety between songs, but their stripped-back track composition is energetic and compelling.

Baby Strange do an excellent job of taking hallmarks of the punk genre, updating them and making them persuasive, but it’s difficult not to get the feeling, as the group perform under a sheet with their name crudely sprayed on it, that Baby Strange need to mature a little more before they can reach their full potential. Early threats to be the next big thing are still 50-50 at this stage, but when performing they’re a truly interesting prospect.

★★★★★

Joe Manners Lewis
Photos: Joe Manners Lewis

For further information about Baby Strange and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Pure Evil here:

Related Itemsbarflylivepotentialpunkrock

More in Live music

Justin Nozuka at the Garage

★★★★★
Bev Lung
Read More

Tokio Myers at the Forum

★★★★★
Daniel Amir
Read More

Lisa Stansfield at the London Palladium

★★★★★
Adrian Peel
Read More

Hinds at Electric Brixton

★★★★★
Jake Cudsi
Read More

Gregory Porter at the Royal Albert Hall

★★★★★
Ed Edwards
Read More

Bastille at the Royal Albert Hall

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

The Vaccines and Whenyoung at Alexandra Palace

★★★★★
Musanna Ahmed
Read More

John Barrowman and Seth Rudetsky at Leicester Square Theatre

★★★★★
Bev Lung
Read More

Alela Diane at Union Chapel

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Project Gastronomía: How will Londoners eat in 2050? A symposium on gastronomy and multisensory design
    Food & Drinks
  • Clare Smyth crowned the World’s Best Female Chef 2018
    Food & Drinks
  • Tokio Myers at the Forum
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema
  • The Outsider: An interview with director Thomas Meadmore
    Cinema
  • The Phlebotomist at Hampstead Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Prudes at the Royal Court
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Absolute Hell at the National Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Wound (Inxeba)
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Clare Smyth crowned the World’s Best Female Chef 2018
    Food & Drinks
  • The Phlebotomist at Hampstead Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Prudes at the Royal Court
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Wound (Inxeba)
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Strictly Ballroom at Piccadilly Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Writer at the Almeida Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre

Instagram

Something is wrong. Response takes too long or there is JS error. Press Ctrl+Shift+J or Cmd+Shift+J on a Mac.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • New London restaurant openings and pop-ups
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Subscribe
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

David LaChapelle: Land Scape at the Robilant + Voena Gallery | Exhibition review
Only Real at Ace Hotel | Live review