Hawk Eyes/Turbowolf/The James Cleaver Quintet – Cockpit 3, Leeds – 15th November 2011 (Live Review)
Monday, 21 November 2011
Written by Ben Bland
What do you get when you chuck three of Britain’s finest up and coming noisemongers in a room little bigger than many a kitchen? The answer should be pure anarchy and craziness. Admittedly in Leeds this evening it is a slightly restrained variation of both that prevails, but take nothing away from the unbridled adrenaline rush that these three bands can provide.
Having spent much of their existence as a quartet, despite their name, The James Cleaver Quintet have been beefed up to their current five headed status for some time now and thus manage to be even more insanely chaotic. Making the most of limited staging seems to be a professional art form in itself for this band and as they blast out bursts of raging post-hardcore noise it is hard to believe that they recently starred in a Lucozade advert. Consistently proving that they are one of the nation’s most essential live acts, the JCQ should not be missed when they turn up at the nearest local toilet that someone has decided to make in to a venue.
Turbowolf (small pic) are the sort of band that deserves to be praised with some word as defiantly silly as “rad” or “funky”. These crazy cats have just released an immense self-titled debut record and the likes of “Ancient Snake” and “Bag O’ Bones” are totally fab anthems just waiting to sit inside your brain and then burst out unexpectedly upon random passers-by or flatmates who are trying to work or some old dude sitting next to you on the train (sorry). The guitars are stonking, the rhythms thumping and the synths are just bonkers. With the first crowd surf of the night rounding off their explosive set, the Cockpit is finally bursting into the life this bill deserves.
Local lads Hawk Eyes (main pic) are closing the show, with material from their upcoming “Mindhammers” EP in the foreground. Despite broken strings and dodgy mic stands, this is the set that really gets the place going, not least due to some frequent forays into the crowd from frontman Paul. Formerly known as Chickenhawk, and having released the excellent “Modern Bodies” in 2010, this band really can batter the ears of an audience into tiny pieces if they so choose. With the exuberance of Therapy? and the unrefined anger of Refused, the local boys come good to close a thoroughly entertaining evening.
Hawk Eyes’ “Mindhammers” EP will be released via Brew Records on 12th December.
The self-titled debut from Turbowolf is out now via Hassle Records.
The JCQ’s “That Was Then, This is now” is also out now via Hassle Records.
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Turbowolf (small pic) are the sort of band that deserves to be praised with some word as defiantly silly as “rad” or “funky”. These crazy cats have just released an immense self-titled debut record and the likes of “Ancient Snake” and “Bag O’ Bones” are totally fab anthems just waiting to sit inside your brain and then burst out unexpectedly upon random passers-by or flatmates who are trying to work or some old dude sitting next to you on the train (sorry). The guitars are stonking, the rhythms thumping and the synths are just bonkers. With the first crowd surf of the night rounding off their explosive set, the Cockpit is finally bursting into the life this bill deserves. 
