Sacred Noise – live in Bloc+

This time last week I was still gutted that I wouldn’t catch Sacred Noise play their debut gig in Glasgow’s Bloc+.

I was resigned to this fact so to appease myself slightly I endeavoured to metaphorically shout about the band with a wee Introducing the Band feature.

Little did I know at the time but I was to be the only delegate on my training in Darlington, so we shot through the day at pace and I was on a train back home an evening earlier than expected. Still, I expected not to be back in time…

If i wasn’t an atheist, I’d say someone was looking out for me as, despite nipping into the office to finish some work, I managed to get to Bloc+ before the band made their appearance.

Unfortunately, I missed most of How We Got Giraffes, as I enjoyed what I saw of their synth bolstered vibrant post punk. Their final song, Statue, was bursting with frenetic energy and I couldn’t help drawing comparisons at points to the early European electronic tinged sound of Simple Minds.

Individually, the quartet who make up Sacred Noise are all accomplished musicians in their own right, having served their apprenticeships in several bands before now. However, this gig was to be their first together as Sacred Noise.

If you’d happened to stumble across this gig as a casual observer, you would never have assumed this was their first outing as a band, such wash the taut professionalism, musicianship and general confidence and sass on display.

From the off, the atmosphere was electrically charged and the band crackling with a blistering energy. Anna was a prime study of intense concentration as she wrangled huge riffs and complex melodies from her guitar, while the seemingly laidback rhythm section of Sam and Robbie created a fast and tight backline for the bands boisterous rock sound.

It has to be said Kirstin is a bouyant and charismatic frontwoman, the right amount of bravado and confidence with her personality shining through and never appearing cocky or brash. And what a set of lungs! Her vocal has a immense raw power to it.

The bands set of original songs, bolstered by a carefully selected cover of The Cranberries Zombie dedicated to the people of Ukraine, never dipped in quality, their sound a blend of power riffing classic rock tinged with elements of goth and punk.

My gig highlights were the edgy punk stylings of Babydoll, recalling early Siouxsie & the Banshees, and including Kirstin donning a sinister baby mask, immediately followed by the slower paced YSYW (You Said You Would). The pace may have been slower but the song still maintained a vibrant energy.

The set closer was a triumphantly raucous and rousing version of their latest single, Part of Me, mixing in snippets of Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Damian Rice and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, with a dual pronged guitar and vocals attack from Kirstin and Anna.

A blistering debut gig, world domination awaits…

Setlist:

Radar
Taste in Men
Do Tell
Hide
Babydoll
YSYW (You Said You Would)
Zombie
Part of Me (9 Crimes/Don’t Forget Me/Bullet With Butterfly Wings/Hurt)

Sacred Noise – Facebook