Gallon Drunk at Rough Trade East

The magic of a good live set is something absolutely inimitable – only live music can give you that feeling of entertainment, joy and a bit of sadness at the same time. At Rough Trade East yesterday, the audience was absolutely stunned in front of one of the best live sets ever seen inside the shop, from underrated English quartet Gallon Drunk. The band have released eight records to date and undergone several changes of line-up. In 2012 they returned with the critically acclaimed The Road Gets Darker From Here, and have just released the great The Soul of Hour, ready again to show their talent.

The band’s best feature is a massive scenic presence, along with wide knowledge in terms of live set; an aesthetic that mixes The Bad Seeds, Noir Désir, Morphine, The Stooges and Come. Thanks to the charismatic leader James Johnston, Terry Edwards at the Hammond and saxophone, new bassist Leo Kurunis and drummer Ian White (perhaps the best musician onstage) the band offer an incredibly stunning and fascinating live set. Their sound is a mix of bluesy punk rock twisted with some kraut and free jazz elements, absolutely original with personality and totally educated. There is something in their music that spreads a lustful feeling of desire – their music is at once sexy, cool and deadly. If we are talking in terms of aesthetic categories, their music is the Eros and Thanatos. In a way, their music is very Nietzschean.

A red light on stage, the musicians all dressed in black, and the audience in absolute religious silence: this was the setting of the gig at Rough Trade. Having just released their new record, the band mostly played songs from the album, including the two singles to date – The Dumb Room and Before the Fire – and the free jazz The Soul of the Hour. This is a live band worth watching, with great songs and stunning charisma – don’t miss them at The Lexington on the 21^st April.

Lorenzo Cibrario
Photos: Lorenzo Cibrario

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

Watch the video for Before the Fire here: