Support: Black Peaks
When: 24th November 2015
Where: Assembly Room, Islington
Reviewed By: Dan Stoten
I've seen Lonely The Brave a good six or seven times now. I wax lyrical about them after every show, telling anyone who'll listen just what a special band they are. Which made it a little tricky for me to review this show: I've almost run out of things to say about a band who are just so damned consistently incredible.
So, I asked my accomplice, former TPA writer Millie Manders, to take over. She'd never seen the band before. Here is what she said...
"My first outing at a Lonely The Brave gig and I am floored. The atmosphere is electric and the crowd are rapt. Out onto the stage to a tension-building intro track roll the band. Each picking up their instruments except the lead singer, going to the drum riser to drink water and wait...
No introduction. The band slam into their first song and the audience erupts. Hands in the air, screams, whistles. This isn't music you will mosh to or even bounce about to. It's dark, moody, brooding and technical and it makes you want to watch intently.
Singer David stands at the back, mic in one hand, the other gently pulling at the bottom of his shirt as he sings. He is clearly uncomfortable and yet he has an incredible stage presence that holds your attention. He draws you in like a moth to a flame.
The band are equally mesmerising and rhythm guitarist Mark talks for David, introducing songs. There isn't much chatter but there doesn't need to be. This is the first time I have seen a band so quiet and yet so captivating. Their music is left to do all the talking and it speaks not just volumes, but libraries. Rich, textured, layered with history.
I do not know if I could push myself to get on stage every night knowing that crippling stage fright would grip me. Lonely The Brave is an appropriate name, watching David close his eyes and lose himself, away from the crowd in his musical cocoon, brave beyond belief and lonely in his bubble. His voice cuts through and above the soaring guitar riffs, heart stopping drums and bass, like smooth glass and velvet all at once. The emotion evident at every turn. The humility of the band is as beautiful as their music. I now understand why this band is so loved. Someone yelled out "we loved you in Norway".... I loved you here, too."
Clearly it isn't just me. Lonely The Brave are an impossibly special band.
Honourable mention from this night must also go to Black Peaks, one of the biggest surprises I've had in 2015. On first view a fairly generic rock band, their choruses exploded with such stunning passion, aggression and talent it was impossible not to sit up and take notice. I was left open-mouthed on a regular basis throughout their set, marvelling at the incredible vocal range of Will Gardner, and the sheer adrenaline-pumping fury their progressive post-hardcore delivered. They're a band I'm absolutely going to be looking out for.
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