MuddiBrooke / The Venue / Derby
Since the return to live shows after the pandemic, we’ve been so lucky at LiveWire and have covered some fantastic, big name bands, such as The Dualers, Spear of Destiny and our last show was the excellent Ash at Rock City. But tonight was a wonderful reminder that grass roots venues and bands are the lifeblood of this industry, and that there are some incredibly talented artists out there, rising stars, and undiscovered gems.
From Derby, Muddibrooke consists of Harriet McDonnell 'Brooke' (Lead vocals & guitar), Anna Melidone (Bass & vocals) and Mary Prince (Drums) and they play an alternative-rock/grunge style and have had airtime with Kerrang radio, and seen success as ‘song of the week’ on BBC Introducing.
Their debut EP Lunacy is out on 22 October 2021 and is available to pre-save now from all major streaming services here and a CD / limited edition vinyl version is also available to pre-order.
Those of you that dip into our page now and then will know we’ve reviewed music from MuddiBrooke before, but this was our first time seeing them live. I had been scheduled to see them at The Musician in Leicester a few weeks ago, but a dose of Covid put paid to that, but here we were at last….. at The Venue in Derby, and I have to say what a fantastic live venue it is, well worth a visit.
They kicked off the set with Straight Jacket (released in April 2021 and given a 9.5 by LiveWire) a song about anxiety with a perfectly pulsing metal feel to it, with fuzzy guitars and some fantastic druming from Mary. Next up was their most recent release Liverpool Guy with a wonderful rock to it and a fantastic catchy chorus….. raucous and raunchy, a brilliant live track.
MuddiBrooke slowed it down a little with an older track Turn to Dust. A delicate and delightful start, which builds and becomes more intense. Probably my favourite song of the night. Followed by Country Song and Little One we then were treated to Fake It a previously unreleased track from the forthcoming new EP. Don’t Own me then led us to the last track Devil.
Devil was released back in October 2020 and covers the emotional and difficult subject of abuse relationships. At times slow and quiet and then the raw, noisy and aggressive sections full of anger. The track has a power and a sense of defiance. The lyrics are emotional and often raw as you’d expect as they describe what it’s like to be in a mentally abusive relationship with lines such as “Don’t tell me that I’m happy here, don’t force me to stay. Oh no you’re mad again, I wish I’d stayed away”. And it translates to the live set brilliantly, powerful and angry !
And so the show ended…. Well nearly. After everyone joined in with a rendition of Happy Birthday for Anna’s younger brother we were treated to one final track, a cover of the great Sam Hall (famously covered by Johnny Cash). And what an end it was to the night, powerful, loud and raw. Just wonderful !
As I said at the start, we’ve seen some big shows recently and this was up right up there with them, and I have to say…… I enjoyed this one the most. If you haven’t heard MuddiBrooke, I thoroughly recommend you give them a listen, or better still take in one of their upcoming shows. Check out their Facebook page for more details. I’m convinced there a big future ahead for MuddiBrooke. If I had one criticism ? I’m a massive fan and both supports gave us a brilliant cover versions of a Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes track, and nope…. nothing from MuddiBrooke to complete the set of three ! (Sorry Brooke lol) As criticisms go…… it’s a pretty minor one really !
Setlist
Straight Jacket
Liverpool Guy
Turn to Dust
Country Song
Little One
Fake It
Don’t Own Me
Devil
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Happy Birthday
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Sam Hall
In support, first up we were treated to a set from Jack Flynn from Floodhounds. A band that produce a thunderous, delightfully messy mix of indie, garage-rock, blues and grunge but Jack presented us with a fantastic acoustic set of original tracks and some covers, including a simply wonderful version of Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes track Lullaby.
We were then treated to a set from Even Odds – A two piece alt-rock band consisting of Aron Newel (drums) & Anna Melidone (bass and vocals – also in MuddiBrooke – busy night Anna !). Aron and Anna were fantastic, and in a way reminded me of the brilliant Nova Twins. Not in terms of their sound/genre, but in the fact that they demonstrated so brilliantly how just two musicians can create a sound far bigger than their constituent parts. Although just a bass and drums, they created a rich full sound and a great experience. Highlight of the set for me was a cover of a cover (Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes having covered the original Mark Ronson & Britney Spears track Nothing Breaks like a Heart. Just brilliant, no way I’d listen to Mark and Britney sing it, but this Even Odds version…. I could listen to it all day.
Both Jack (Floodhounds) and Even Odds were a great set up for the main performance by MuddiBrooke, and I look forward to seeing them both again live soon.
