The Freaks Union, The Smoking Hearts, A New Day's Enemy, Score One for Safety, Public Relations Exercise.

Esquires Bedford Lev 2 Saturday 8th July 2006.

With the anticipation of the melodic hardcore punk of Hull/Leeds-based THE FREAKS UNION, the slow, sonic-sounding opener from Leicester’s Public Relations Exercise might not be quite what the crowd were expecting, as the band burst into an abrasive set of discordant, experimental art-rock. A vicious, noisy, aural assault; each band member twirls on stage, never really acknowledging the audience and lost in their abyss of frenzied screams and painful guitars that screech over hidden grooves and almost-catchy beats. The quality steadily increases as they work through their set, each song offering a short sharp shock before they reach an exhausting close with friends jumping on stage to scream the last frenzied notes with them, as the guitarist hurls his guitar into the unsuspecting crowd.

What you can’t help but admire about Barnet’s SCORE ONE FOR SAFETY is their braveness; to stand before a crowd of rabid punk fans and spend five minutes building up a thoughtful, somewhat surreal blend of chiming, rippling guitars takes a lot of front. And their experimental sound almost works as they build to a dense soundscape punctuated by a cappella singing before dissolving into screams. As with Public Relations Exercise, each member seems completely absorbed in their own terrifying world of sound as (backs to the audience) they unleash a barrage of screams, pounding drums and more sonic guitars Yet in the same vein as bands like Devil Sold His Soul, there’s also something strangely soothing about Score One For Safety, and if you close your eyes and let the sound envelope you it’s almost like being underwater. But as quickly as they can be gentle they can just as soon be feverish and abrasive, as the singer contorts and screams like a child having a tantrum.

But it’s A NEW DAY’S ENEMY, another Leicester-based band who really start to bring some life to the venue tonight. Big, brash, powerful guitars and bouts of pounding off-beat drumming are employed alongside fast-shouted, shared punk vocals. It’s the band’s first trip to Bedford and their wailing chants and melodic hooks buried beneath the heavy barrage of punk pummelling don’t fail to impress as they deliver a driving, metal-edged selection of hardcore punk, thrashing through their set before crashing to a climactic end with military, machine gun drumming.

THE FREAKS UNION might be tonight’s headliners but many of the crowd are here to support Bedford favourites, The Smoking Hearts, and as the band literally fall on stage the crowd surge forward to get a closer look. Powerful and hard-hitting, The Smoking Hearts unleash a brash sleazy garage mix of punk and metal with a smattering of catchy punk-rock ‘n’ roll chants and sprawling guitar solos. These boys are each every inch the rock stars as they strut around the stage rolling out a convincing and enjoyable set of raunchy garage rock tunes, snarling vocals and off-beat punk thrashing before ending with the well-worn favourite ‘Blood Money’.
The Freaks Union front man Jimbo has spoken about the close-knit punk community, and the Bedford scene seems to be no different, with members of The Tendons and The Dilenquents being spotted in tonight’s audience to support the Hull/Leeds five-piece, The Freaks Union. While The Freaks Union stay true to traditional punk politics, the first and most important aim for this band is to enjoy themselves and to ensure that the audience do the same. Brutal but melodic, confrontational but fun, The Freaks Union seem to cover all bases with their brand of melodic hardcore punk. Blasting drums and fast paced guitars combine to a pummelling punk sound, interspersed with anthemic shouts that make this a passionate and whole-hearted display. In between songs the atmosphere is one of intense camaraderie between the band and the audience and as they bludgeon their way through new track ‘Black Dog’ and the brutal punk onslaught of ‘Face Don’t Fit’ the crowd really begin to come to life. Ten years in the business and The Freaks Union really have perfected the art of providing an amusing and genuinely passionate performance of punk brilliance.