Bruise Control Shake Up London With a Ferocious Midweek Set
If you read my review of Bruise Control’s self-titled EP, you’ll know I was excited to see how the raw energy of their music would translate live, and it did not disappoint. Raucous, loud and damn good fun, their intensity filled the admittedly tiny venue and got everyone moving. It was also refreshing to see band members from both Bruise Control and PussyLiquor in the audience for each other’s sets and behind the merch stand chatting with fans, something you mostly only see at smaller gigs these days.
Supported by PussyLiquor, an all-woman band with boatloads of attitude, the gig got off to an excellent start. Introducing themselves as “the most awkward fucking band in the world”, with a guitarist and vocalist who weren’t afraid to jump into the crowd and mosh, they’re firmly on my list of bands to watch. Standout songs for me were ‘Spoon’ (“about rich fucking art school kids pretending to be poor”), ‘Pretty Good for a Girl’ and ‘Buy More Shit’ (an anti-capitalist song with a cheeky nod to ‘Barbie Girl’ by Aqua). If you like bands like YAKKIE and Lambrini Girls, you should definitely give PussyLiquor a listen.
With the room properly warmed up, Bruise Control took the stage, kicking off their set with the opening track from their new EP, ‘Be Like You’. This scrappy anthem was the only song the vocalist kept his shirt on for, throwing everyone headfirst into a charged set. It’s hard to believe a crowd could be so energetic on a Wednesday night in Dalston, but when you see a band like Bruise Control live it’s almost impossible to keep still. I’m sure plenty of us trudged into work the next day with bruises from the pit and a hangover to match, with zero regrets.
‘Left Behind’, also from the EP, felt especially relevant to an area like Dalston, historically working-class and known for its immigrant communities, but rapidly gentrified in the last 10–20 years, with many people being pushed out of the spaces they helped create.
‘Never Again’, from their 2023 album ‘Useless For Something’, was a crowd favourite, with backing vocals from the guitarist and bassist and a slower breakdown towards the end. The pace was relentless, building momentum that saw the mosh pit grow as the set went on. Between songs there were some funny moments too, with the singer joking that the further south they go the less people understand him, while the bassist stepped in to “translate” in an RP accent.
‘If Yr Not Mine’ whipped the room into a frenzy with its chaotic riffs and nearly knocked me over. My measure of a good gig is whether you’ve almost hit the floor from the force of the music and the mosh pit, and this wasn’t the only moment it happened. With a conga line turned circle pit and the crowd singing along almost loudly enough to drown out the band, this was a proper banger, and at less than £15 a ticket you couldn’t go wrong.
If you like your gigs thunderous, fun, DIY and full of pure, unadulterated punk energy, then you NEED to see Bruise Control live! My only gripe is that I wish the set had been longer, but with most of their songs clocking in at under three minutes (and presumably a venue curfew), it’s less a complaint and more a plea for more music from a band that feels fresh and exciting.