Tonight the Key Club sees Leeds’ very own Faultlines release their EP, All We’ve Ever Known.
Cold Summer take to the stage in front of a fairly sparse crowd, however this doesn’t seem to unnerve frontman Dan Feast even a little bit. He spends most of his time in the middle of the floor, much to the delight of the audience, who feel far more involved this way- demonstrated by the guy who starts rolling along the floor towards the vocalist mid-set (!?) The band are somewhere in the realms of post-hardcore; there’s moments where it’s through and through heavy metal, and others where there are definite signs of classic rock influences. Bear Eats Wolf provides a massive chorus that promises huge crowd sing-alongs in the future; the vocals of the masses are accompanied by those of Feast, which are not unlike those of Billy Talent’s Benjamin Kowalewicz’, with a rockier edge.
Hailing from Southampton, Our Hollow Our Home have travelled a fair distance to play tonight, however judging by the response, it was completely worth it. Vocalist Connor Hallisey chooses to follow Cold Summer’s example and spends the whole show on the floor amongst the crowd (which is far bigger now). I Am The Eulogy has those metalcore chugs and drops you just can’t get enough of in a dingy rock club on a Friday night, and lyrics that are hollered euphorically around the circle that has formed around the vocalist in the centre of the floor. ‘If you know the words, come take this mic off me it’s as much mine as it is yours!’ Hallisey yells, as he launches into Throne To The Wolves and is met by a tirade of people following his orders. Their set ends with a multitude of people screaming various parts of the song into the now communal microphone, and there’s so much energy present which is only amplified with everyone joining in with the performance in the middle of the dancefloor.
Faultlines have something really cool going on here, and this is evident with the amount of people who have packed out the Key Club to support the band on their EP launch night. The growly, gravelly male screams and flowing, powerful and sometimes haunting female vocals, provided by Jake Noakes and Christina Rotondo, give the band an edge that makes them just that little bit different from a lot of the other bands out there. This vocal set-up is reinforced by the genre-flitting music behind it that sometimes contrasts the clean vocals, while other times creates a driving force tied in with the screams. Encapsulating this, Call Me Home brings a call and response from the two sets of vocals during the verses, while the bridge is a touching moment underlined by steadfast guitars.
Unrelenting, yet at times oddly pacifying, Drowning stands way out- coincidentally this song also has a recently released video (which is all intriguing and creepy and that), which makes it even better! Voices packs quite the punch as screams echo through the tiny venue in the beginning before it emerges as a soaring track for a minute, quickly followed again by another drastic change- oscillation is absolutely a favourite and a strong point for this band. And just like that, it’s over; the set is full of songs that are purely their own, so it’s short and sweet but exceeds expectations regardless.
Though their set may have been brief, Faultlines proved their point tonight. Their five song EP boasts talent that is worth of recognition, and the band more than deserved the turn out and reception they received tonight. Don’t be at all surprised if you see A LOT more of Faultlines in the very near future.
Photos by Sasha Howells
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