Sandwiched between a Wagamamas and a Uniqlo is a little slice of old school punk heaven. It’s Grade 2’s album launch show and we’re here to celebrate the music of 1977 with the future of the old school scene. As a crowd, we’re a tight fit into the venue, guys with Cock Sparrer skull tattoos rubbing shoulders with grannies sporting Chelsea girl haircuts, and primary school kids in oversized Exploited hoodies, but it’s just that kind of show: every forward-looking punk within a ten-mile radius has laced their boots and showed us to get their fix of new material from the lads from the Isle of Wight.
As a set, tonight is short but intense, which is for the best: any longer than forty-five minutes and we’d be a collective puddle of mush on the sticky floor, but it’s also the perfect length to showcase ‘Talk About It’. “It’s a little different from what we’ve done before,” warns Sid Ryan. The split between issues of “love, loss, grief, ambition, [and] hitting trouble’, which dominate their latest release, serves to show how much they’ve opened up and turned their troubles into a strengthened sound. Opener ‘Standing In The Downpour’ immediately grabs us by the collar for a good shaking in its purer and more immediate live incarnation. ‘Cut Throat’”s bass-binding is knotted in wire-sharp guitar, before the band slip in to the thrashing blast of ‘Midnight Ferry’.
The hits punctuate Grade 2’s quick-fire set – and, of course, ‘Graveyard Island’ is a battery of storming energy, always dominated by force of attitude, which drags our phones up – but the fact that ‘Hangin’ On To You’, which only came out weeks ago, is already sparking a massive fan reaction is a sign that we’ve embraced their new direction. It’s a ray of sunlight that splits the ceiling when the intro drops, with each line a promise like the anonymous hand that grabs you up from the floor when you fall in the pit. Title track ‘Talk About It’ feels like a middle finger to anything that atomises, celebrating the growing community they’ve gathered around themselves.
For the first time, Grade 2 feel like an independent force. Sure, there are echoes of Pennywise on ‘Better Today’ via their gruff vulnerability, and yes, we’re always aware that Rancid’s Matt Freeman is inspiration behind each complex note of Ryan’s bass. Of course, ‘Pubwatch’ carries a whole lot of wholesome Oi in each bellowed gang vocal, and we love these guys for being the smoothie that results from dropping all our favourite punk ingredients into a blender. But, just when we think we’ve got them figured out, they drop in a cover in the form of ‘Do You Wanna Dance?’, and we’re struck by how much originality and, above all, joy they can bring to a song we all know. They’ve slowly built on their origins to an endpoint where they’re true to themselves, and it shines through on every new track. ‘Wasteland’ opens up a packed pit and conjures a dark groove to send us slamming.
Grade Two are a blunt instrument in the punk scene, but such an effective one. Moving on with ‘Talk About It’ has resulted in a freshness seeping into their music and a personal touch which extends to more than just those enamoured of the street punk sound. Fast and energising, and unlikely to play to such a tiny room again in London, we’re lucky to have caught them before they explode.
Kate Allvey