Boy Hits Car at Underworld Camden

Boy Hits Car are something of a relic; representing a bygone era of late 90s and early 00s nu-metal, with strangely feminine vocals (think Korn meets Coheed and Cambria). Last night we caught their show at Underworld in Camden, where metal fans go to hit each other in the face with their dreadlocks.

Despite Underworld being a small venue the crowd was noticeably sparse, but the LA four-piece seemed undeterred by the lack of numbers, kicking off with an energetic and heavy opener. For the most part, the band are quite typical of their genre but frontman Cregg Rondell stood out as a rare specimen of an entirely different breed – sporting a kooky combo of waistcoat with no shirt and three quarter-length shorts he pranced around the stage spinning in manic circles, delivering weird falsetto vocals like there was no tomorrow.

Some of the songs featured interesting psych-rock interludes played by Rondell on a semi-acoustic, but the majority of the set was dominated by heavy, distorted guitar riffs and breakdowns. Highlights included Rondell trying to incite a mosh pit while holding a flute (which he played on several tracks), along with a teary-eyed speech he delivered about the importance of spreading peace, love and tolerance and protecting mother earth.

Although there were no religious overtones, the band emanated a cultish Christian rock vibe (they describe their sound as “love core”) and gave the impression that their tour antics are more likely to involve holding hands in a circle and playing trust exercises than Class A drugs or biting the heads off bats.

The small audience seemed to be made up solely of die-hard fans, kitted out in t-shirts bearing the band’s slogan “I am so full of love”, though most of them barely moved throughout the show aside from a few people at the front making devil horns and head-banging, and a young couple who could be seen screaming the lyrics at each other with their faces so close their noses were touching.

Overall the experience was a bit like finding a box of 90s Kerrang magazines in the attic and spending an hour leafing through them – sort of enjoyable in a strange way, but you wouldn’t want to do it more than once, and something you probably wouldn’t tell your friends about.

Steve Mallon

For further Information and future events visit Boy Hits Car’s website here.

Watch the video for Man Without Skin here: