Over recent years, it has been impossible to avoid the nostalgic adoration for 90’s alternative rock within the music world. Bands from that era are reuniting, records being reissued, and more noticeably, current bands are adopting a sound that harks back to the days of MTV actually playing music video’s, and Long hair and plaid shirts became part of grunge fashion. Tonight’s show in the dingy, back room of the Fighting Cocks in Kingston, certainly has that 90’s vibe in the air, and Doylestown, PA’s band Superheaven clearly have an affinity for all things from that era. Formerly known as Daylight, Superheaven gained a steady fan base with the release of three emotionally charged EP’s, then last year the band unleashed their full-length ‘Jar’ – which has just been reissued on their new label SideOneDummy – and showed a newer, more grunge orientated sound, without sounding like a regression and ushered in a new era of alternative rock.
After Nai Harvest having to pull out of tonight’s show due to university commitments, it is down to newcomers Grayscale to open tonight proceedings. Having been a band for roughly a year, it is clear their sound is a work in progress and the new songs that the band showcases from their forthcoming release shine over their older material. The certainly play with a huge amount of heart too, and will no doubt eventually become a formidable live act, and are a welcome addition to the UK’s burgeoning music scene.
Next up are Welsh quartet Concave, who play a gritty, heartfelt brand of alternative punk rock, which draw comparisons to Title Fight and Gypsy. That is by no means a bad thing, and the band are more than just one of many clones of the aforementioned bands. Tracks such as ‘On Your Own’ and ‘Fade Away’ sound huge, and it would come as no surprise if Concave find themselves headlining venues like the Fighting Cocks themselves sooner rather than later.
Tonight marks the end of Superheaven’s first European headline tour, however they show no signs of fatigue from being on the road for the best part of a month as they launch into ‘Sponge’. The band thrash around in sea of flailing long hair and massive riffs, before moving into punk-rock fury of ‘On The Way To Dad’s’ from 2012 EP ‘The Difference In Good And Bad Dreams’. The only other older song to be aired tonight is ‘Selfish’ from ‘Disprit’, and then its back to material from ‘Jar’, which show how much the band have moved on from their early days, and stand out from the current boom of alt-rock bands. Sharing the vocal’s between guitarists Taylor Madison, and Jake Clarke works perfectly with Taylor’s gravelly tone on ‘Youngest Daughter’, and Jake’s slightly cleaner vocal as he takes the lead on ‘In On It’.
The only slight let down for tonight’s show seems to be the lack of energy from the crowd, but this could be due to not really knowing what to do during a Superheaven set. They don’t have “mosh” parts as such, and maybe people don’t think its cool to bang your head any more. Either way, that doesn’t stop Superheaven from sounding absolutely crushing on ‘Crawl’ which packs the power of ‘Sixteen Stone’ era Bush, as the band clearly give it everything. The closing duel attack of ‘Around The Railing’ and the fuzzed out ‘Life In A Jar’ bring tonight’s set to a close in style, and round off what has clearly been a successful tour for the band.
Superheaven show once again that they are one of the most exciting bands in the alternative scene today, and the way they are progressing with each release and powerful live performances such as tonight’s, the future looks bright for this fantastic band.