Five cities, one week, twenty three bands and six stages: Common Thread Tour is a masterpiece of logistics as well as hardcore. For one day, the whole of Camden Town has been taken over by music as glorious as it is brutal, and weâre here to catch as much as the Northern Line and our worn out Docs will allow.
Free Throw – Dingwalls
Good honest screaming draws a serious crowd to the corner of the canal to check out Free Throw and their charming skate nostalgia blended with a bottle throwing attitude. âPallet Townâ claws for a connection through hazy riffs and evaporated memories of past pits and we paste the quieter contemplative moments with joyful claps and heartfelt callbacks. New song âMike Nolanâs Long Weekendâ clicks heartfelt and vulnerable in its warmth, and their rumbling bright survivorship burns away our mid-afternoon haze.
Modern Life is War – Underworld
From one basement to another, Modern Life Is War prove thereâs a darkness in the centre of town, their pounding energy like a runaway tank through the crowded Underworld. With juggernaut drumming and a powerhouse vocal performance from Jeffrey Eaton, theyâre mixing the hardcore past and present into a foreboding sound. When he screams weâre going down it feels like a promise not a threat and their occasional moments of smoothness feel like a gathering storm. All in, theyâre hypnotic: a cathartic harbinger of the evening to come.
The Dirty Nil – Roundhouse
All the way from Ontario to the industrial Roundhouse, The Dirty Nilâs stripped back style drags those who didnât get into A Wilhelm Screamâs pub set through the garage squat past and into our renegade future. Theyâre Weezerâs more authentic cousins, with freedom-loving gang vocals and when they crank out âRock n Roll Bandâ weâre treated to a tale of twang and desperation. âThat Donât Mean It Wonât Stingâ shows off their back to basics attitude, but we really donât need much more from these guys: weâve already got an unrefined sweetness and a whole lot of rough-around-the-edges heart. âRide or Dieâ springs through evocative romance, leaving us with a beautifully abstract sense of hope.
The Hotelier – Roundhouse
As Christian Holden shouts out the first line of âAn Introduction to the Albumâ heâs greeted with a chorus of raised fists. Itâs an unexpected lovely track live, full of the pain of daybreak: each line murmured in return, the headbangs flowing on the drop. Three guitars are the catalyst for an avalanche of emotion as they slam their way through a set at todayâs âincredibly sad festivalâ, with âThe Scope Of All This Rebuildingâ carrying the energy of the moment when when you just have to smile through the aftermath of a tragedy. Scaling peaks of distortion laden shape beauty, The Hotelier have the chest-opening quality that weâre seeking today, rich with grit and tenderness.
Comeback Kid – Roundhouse
The first pit of the evening cracks open as Comeback Kid raise the temperature with âFalse Idols Fallâ. Ferocious, intense and an absolute jolt of power, they spit unity and irresistible punk aggravation. Their âpunk rock festival singalong shitâ lights the fire under the pit while frontman Andrew Neufeld stalks back and forth like a caffeinated tiger, stirring the pit fervour even further. He bounces foot to foot like a boxer, bringing the fighting spirit to us through turbo boosted old school hardcore and weâre giving it our all through their pneumatic bass of and the carnage it brings. They fill the arena with their blender of a hardcore sound as we scream back the chorus to âWake The Deadâ, smashing a crater of an impression into our memories.
Joyce Manor – Roundhouse
At the other end of the spectrum from Comeback Kid, Joyce Manor serve as a poppier respite to the evening. âNBTSAâ smashes through with scratched solos and a lighter vibrancy, and the way their outsider chords strike into the crowd speaks of a wonderful transcontinental connection on âBeach Communityâ. Thereâs a crush at the front but the waves of their complicated honesty stretch through to each of us. Each song feels devastatingly brief, each teenage tripped line a testament to flash of an idea. Whether itâs wanting some backyard biro artwork on âTattooâ or the moment youâre ready to leave your crush behind on âVictoriaâ. Joyce Manorâs upbeat realistic snapshots are a thing of absolute joy.
Spanish Love Songs – Roundhouse
âLosersâ cements Spanish Love Songs as not only fan favourites of today but also as more than we ever realised. Todayâs set exposes their raw edges as theyâve eschewed polish and synth in favour of playing with the hardcore end of their sound. A yelp and a growl lurk at the edges of âClean Up Crew,â with a solemn churchlike pause to appreciate each lyric before the crowd surfers remind us of the power of the human spirit. âGeneration Lostâ switches between double speed and slow motion, playing with our emotions before weâre smashed by âLifersâ, a song whose petals open like gruff enlightenment. Between tough singalongs that twist into a worshipful bridge, and more optimistic notes that make us jump away our fears, Spanish Love Songs serve as a beacon of resilience when the night gets too dark.
Hot Water Music – Roundhouse
Hot Water Music have evolved to become the finest version of themselves, to the point that weâre too shellshocked to dance until halfway through their set. Somehow âDrag My Bodyâ has become more desperate and bare, any free sonic space filled with Chuck Raganâs monumental roar, but thatâs not to discount Chris Wollardâs vicious vocal achievement on âMenaceâ in the least. âKilling Timeâ smashes onstage, its autumnal harmonics as road worn and lurid as a tour flyer. Theyâre still flying their flag resolutely, and slowly a pit coalesces by âA Flight And A Crashâ as they stomp through regret and blues and out the other side.
âIt feels like we all made it to the end of a punk rock scavenger hunt today,â jokes Wollard, and maybe itâs that sense of victory that weâre absorbing with each bass burst. Their new songs like âFencesâ and âAfter The Impossibleâ are just as brittle and deep as all the rest of their back catalogue, haunting and gripping as they lead us through chanted landscapes. âRemedyâ explodes, our tired bodies shaken awake by the drama and riffs and layers of hard won shout. Dave Hause jumps in on guest vocals for âTrusty Chordsâ as we choir it back to him, the world suddenly glowing golden at the combination of two resolutely independent vocalists joining forces on one of our favourite songs.Â
As we stumble out, somewhat broken from a full day of slamming, weâre forced to contemplate the ‘Common Thread’ uniting the day. The sunlight of surviving through hardship permeates the day, as does a resounding sense of forging your own path through the frequently harsh nature of modern existence. Perhaps we, who spend the day running up and down Camden High Street, braving the queues and fuelling ourselves with plastic glasses of post-mix Coke, were the fabric that drew the day together before the tour rumbles on to the next town lucky enough to be treated to a day of magnificent punk.Â
Kate Allvey