Today, the 27th of October, is the day Mallory Knox finally unleash their sophomore album ‘Asymmetry’. They celebrated by playing The Shadow Lounge in Soho, London. Usually a night club, the venue has lights all over the ceilings and walls and is the perfect place for the die-hard Mallory Knox fans to check out the band once more. They won’t be playing venues this size for a while after this album.
To open, Brighton 4 piece, Verses took to the stage and played a very well tuned set. Having half an hour to set their stall out, the band ran through songs of very high quality. Reminiscent of We Are The Ocean & Deaf Havana, Verses are a band who are definitely on the up. With tunes like ‘Who We Are’ and ‘At The Roadside’ they’re very well equipped to take to bigger stages soon. ‘These Shores’ has a Deaf Havana taste to it, whilst anthem in waiting and set closer, ‘Live In The Sky’ was a rousing, heartfelt tune. Definitely a band to watch.
Taking to the stage at 9pm, Mallory Knox set about showing why they’ve been threatening to blow the rock scene wide open. Armed with a new album, frontman Mikey Chapman proclaimed that tonight was a homage to ‘Signals’ and was an ample chance to bed in the new material. Playing a 13 song set, they got the perfect balance of old and new material in the set. Opening with ‘QODII’ it was evident that this is indeed a new start for the band. One which will push them to the stars.
Recent single ‘Shout at the Moon’ saw Chapman climb into the crowd, and drew a massive singalong, whilst old cut ‘1949’ got a rousing response. Throughout the set the crowd were impeccable. Being an over 18 show, there wasn’t much moshing, just people enjoying their music in their own personal space. ‘When Are We Waking Up?’ and ‘Getaway’ sounded massive but it was ‘Ghost In The Mirror’ which got the crowd moving more than any other song. ‘Dying to Survive’ has a massive swagger about it due to the riffs and the solos, and the emotion in Chapman’s vocals were translated to the stage as well as the aforementioned swagger. One of the highlights of the album and one of the biggest highlights of the set – especially impressive considering the whole set was its own highlight. Closing on the obligatory ‘Lighthouse’, Chapman thanked everyone for getting them to where they are, before the biggest singalong of the night.
Having had ‘Asymmetry’ produced by Gil Norton (who was also at the show) shows that Mallory Knox are a band on the up, and they proved that tonight. With the massive November tour coming up, they’re ready to step it up to bigger venues. Brixton Academy calls. Tonight was a special night which will live in the memory for a long time. Incredible.