Masters of a craft that doesn’t have a name yet: Adult DVD, live in Sheffield
Adult DVD is a lot who are masters of a craft that doesn’t even have a name. They occupy a chaotic corner of music that, for the life of me, I can’t pin a label on.
The only way you can realistically describe the feeling of stepping out of the Steel City air and into Yellow Arch that evening is by comparing it to getting off the plane when you first land on holiday. That air-conditioned steel tube, slight chill and stink of sweat are ditched for a horrid humidity, half-arsed sorrys dished out to swaying strangers as you brush past them, shoulder to shoulder, finding a spot where the band are more than floating heads and flashing lights. (Metaphors may have gotten muddled there.)
The Sheffield crowd are a mixed bunch, young and old, bald, balding and beautiful heads of hair, make up an unhelpful ‘Guess Who?’ board as lights dim and these Leeds-based-electronic-punk-pioneers take to the stage. They’re an unassuming lot, holding themselves tightly, barely looking up at the crowd they now stand before. That is, until the music kicks in, a beat, a synth, that’s all it takes for shy silhouettes to scatter, and each member steps into this new role of rockstar.
I’ve always hated lazy comparisons, and Adult DVD are certainly a blend of a few bands you probably know, but who am I to name them here? They have an unforgiving energy, which is punk, with pounding synths that the rowdiest of raves would struggle to keep a lid on, and distortion-laden riffs that wouldn’t be out of place at a metal gig.
They blend genres that you would bet your life wouldn’t work, but here we are, downing this musical smoothie like we haven’t eaten for days. This mixed bunch of an audience is probably the band’s biggest compliment. Such a broad spectrum of music lovers is here, likely barely connected in everyday life, but suddenly joined by this mad sound.
Towards the front, you have mosh pits, sweaty bodies bashing against one another like it’s not a Wednesday night in Sheffield. A touch back you have some half-and-halves, hand in the air, sure, but another tightly clutching a beer they’ve probably been thinking about all day. Then, at the back, you have your stoics, bodies still, but the movement of that head is undeniable. The way this amalgamation enjoys music varies greatly, but make no mistake, they’re enjoying it.
You have to keep in mind that in the grand scheme of things, Adult DVD are still relatively new. Their first single. ‘Broken English’, was released in 2021, they have no albums out yet, but with each new song since that ’21 debut, all the way up to their most recent record ‘Real Tree Lee’, you can hear them developing, stumbling upon different effects and means of playing. Their sound is still very much in the crafting process as they make a mosh pit out of a musical grey area, and yet, every single second of this set can only be called perfect; damn, even perfect feels like an undersell.
Masters of a craft, and it doesn’t even have a name, kings of this strange musical mix, which only previously existed in fever dreams and bad trips, constantly teetering on the edge of collapse but never fully falling apart, they thrive on this precipice of chaos, which they created themselves. Granted, it’s just under an hour of music, but it’s impossible to find fault with and also impossible to properly do justice with words alone.
Adult DVD are without a doubt one of the most exciting live bands on the go right now. Their gigs are sold out for a reason, as they straddle a line between banging rave and full metal meltdown, which I previously didn’t know existed. Despite still fleshing out their style and releasing music which continues to evolve, this is a group who have their sound down to a T. What is that sound, you ask? You won’t find it in these words; I don’t even think they could tell you.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.