Tonight is a celebratory show for the band Strange Cages who released their second EP, The Cracks, earlier in the month. We’re huddled at the end of Brighton Electric in a medium sized rehearsal space. The room is full to the brim before the band even come on. Support slots from Tuval and Egyptian Blue have been great and have set the tone for the evening well. In particular, I’d give a nod to Tuval who were absolutely fantastic and a band I’d definitely recommend going to see again.

Strange Cages come on with an immediate confidence, brief “hellos”, then the drums kick everything off. The room is tensely bobbing along, it wants to break into a dance, but it wants to experience the band. Later on the evening this tension snaps. They sound huge and aggressive in a similar vein to The Wytches with fuzzy guitars and smooth vocal melodies. Throughout the show the audience are heckling the band with adoring messages.

The evening gets very weird about three quarters into Strange Cage’s set and things feel like they may fall apart. The crowd descends into a strange frenzy of moshing reminiscent of a 16-year-old’s piss-up. It’s distracting but very entertaining to watch unfold, in waves of battering the crowd end up falling onto the stage, knocking down microphones as though they gave them a bad look from across the room. Guitar leads get pulled from sockets as well and pieces of drum kit end up sprawled across the floor. This all just adds to the fun of the night and isn’t as aggressive as I’ve made out, the band take it all in jest and the crowd that isn’t part of it are just enjoying spectating the chaos. Things don’t crumble, but it seems like they could.

It’s this excitement that seems to ignite something in the band. The set becomes a lot more loose and free, probably due to the audience collapsing on the stage at various points. This does distract from the band, but makes for a great show. The band seem to be having just as much fun as everyone else in the room and it seems to relax them.

It’s safe to assume Strange Cages played everything in their set, the band are on for a good hour or so. Behind whirring fuzz and feedback Strange Cages have a real knack for song craft. They manage to keep their set sounding raw and loose and together. It’s this combination that fuels the crowd and makes the band stand out from the crowd. If they can take a gig and stir up this kind of excitement in a more formal venue, they’ll definitely end up being a band you’ll hear much more about.
Chris Middleton

Facebook: facebook.com/strangecages