Gilla Band live review: unsung noise rock heroes prove their brilliance
I have a distinctive memory of discovering the song ‘Paul’ by Gilla Band (known back then as Girl Band) when I was a teenager and being blown away by its intense, anxiety-inducing build-up and subsequent explosion of instruments. Laid on my bedroom floor, the faint voice of my mother calling me for tea over the sound of the abrasive guitars wasn’t enough to prize me away – I was much more concerned with consuming everything else the band had ever made.
Since then, Gilla Band have released two more studio albums, The Talkies and Most Normal, both of which contain impressive noise rock experiments paired with lead vocalist Dara Kiely’s idiosyncratic, often humorous lyrics. Despite their innovative approach (even post-punk heavyweights Fontaines D.C cite them as a massive source of inspiration), Gilla Band remain underappreciated in comparison to their peers, instead inviting a relatively small yet dedicated fanbase. This is perhaps due to Gilla Band’s sound being considerably more inaccessible, often centring on harsh noise and unconventional song structure.
Yet, this is what makes Gilla Band such a unique band in today’s overpopulated post-punk landscape. What’s more, their live performances are never short of astounding, bringing as much intensity and abrasion to the stage as they do to their records. Having seen the band several times before and finding myself mesmerised, I jumped at the chance to watch them play an intimate gig in the Pink Room at Manchester’s popular venue.
My evening didn’t start off too smoothly, however, and our delayed train left little time to get food, and if there’s one thing I’m not doing, it’s standing in a warm, cramped room on an empty stomach. However, we finally arrived at the venue 20 minutes before Gilla Band was set to take the stage, and I scoffed the remnants of my Burger King fries as I made my way through the downstairs bar. Once upstairs, we situated ourselves among the male-heavy crowd framed by the delicate pink walls of the gig space.
Compared to my time seeing Gilla Band at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club this time last year, I couldn’t help but feel initially disappointed by the crowd’s lack of movement despite the band’s instant ferocity, with only a small section of the audience appearing to release any energy. There was a decisive lack of head-banging or even casual foot-tapping and head-swaying until later on in the set – when the space turned into one great pit of opportunistic moshers.
It was interesting to witness such a different crowd in Manchester compared to Leeds; I noticed many more teenagers bouncing around Yes – a less common sight at the Brudenell. However, it was refreshing to see such a good mix of young and old music lovers in the crowd, suggesting that Gilla Band might finally be receiving the wider fanbase they deserve.
They blasted through new and old songs with flawless precision, including fan favourites like ‘Backwash’, ‘Eight Fivers’ and ‘Going Norway’, alongside some earlier cuts such as the gloriously noisy ‘Umbongo’ (a song my mother once heard me listening to in the kitchen, causing her to run downstairs and ask if the washing machine was broken).
An eager young crowdsurfer tried his luck near the end of the set, getting a little too ambitious as he threw up a charmingly dated rock and roll hand sign. By the time the band had whipped out ‘Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage’, the front of the room was basically a free-for-all.
It is a true shame that Gilla Band have not received the same levels of success as many of their counterparts, and their blistering live shows prove just how incredible and vital they are as a band. Few bands could make chants of “petit pois” and “Nutella” sound so good.
