Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Our writer enjoys a night of humorous, grungy and immersive sounds courtesy of four rip-roaring North East acts
Image: HMRC, taken at The Engine Room by Victoria Wai
Nothing screams Christmas more like HMRC. If festive frivolities and the sanctification of sin don’t go hand in hand with a selective reinforcement of the feudal order in an unequal, capitalist hellscape, then Santa might as well have died for nothing.
Unlike the real HMRC, this one touched everyone equally, with a humorous, grungy set that topped of a great Christmas audit.
Arriving at the Lubber Fiend on the back of a brilliant run of singles, such as Boots On The Ground and Hyperactive Child, HMRC dutifully took the night by storm, with a typical display of raw post-punk exhibitionism.
The evening was a showcase of northeast talent from start to finish. Stage debutants Offscreen Dog provided a wholesome opening act that demonstrated great promise for the future, Charts & Graphs carried the night forward with an assured set, in which The Intermission was a particular high note. And Marginal Gains served up a captivating and thoroughly immersive show that set up HMRC very nicely.
Continuously progressing, and with an identity and tone that’s firmly aligned with the region, HMRC are undoubtedly ones to keep an eye out for in the future.
