poppedmusic

Saint Agnes

Dingwalls, London, 24th October 2014

Words: Nicolas Jacques
Photos: Amy Butcher

Ah the Dingwalls of Camden….. A venue that is steeped in history and to this day has managed to retain its status as a prominent venue for punk and rock royalty.

And on this occasion, the stage was graced by London’s very own Saint Agnes! This is the band’s biggest headline gig to date and they played with so much swagger and energy to match it!

Popped have been covering them since they were in their infancy and we are too proud to see how much they’ve developed as a band to the force that they are now.

Our warm-up came in the alluring form of Soeur, a female-fronted threesome, who laid down the night’s foundations with an indulgent slice of blues/rock. Parts of their set reminded me a bit of early PJ Harvey (Dry/rid of me era) and I was only too happy to bathe in their confident and composed set. The vocal interplay between both the front 2 was pretty impressive and they delivered the goods in a timely effortless fashion. They have a solid stage presence and I could not take my eyes off them! The punters were entranced by them. Definitely, worth keeping your eye out for them, these guys will be going places!

Saint Agnes however are on another level. They were greeted like heroes on their homecoming! The Dingwalls were buzzing and full of excitement when they launched into their set.

Having seen Saint Agnes a few times now, I can safely say that on this occasion they played with no fearlessness whatsoever. Their blistering Deadweather-esque schtick worked perfectly and they played like their lives depended on it. Savage and emphatic, they hit all the right notes and frontwoman kitty was only too happy to get involved by climbing part of the boundary to overlook her audience; it was like we were her prey and she was our predator, helpless to its resist her prowess.

They hailed the audience for their participation and support and we duly obliged in acknowledgement. The crowd was buzzing with excitement throughout their set, personal highlights were the piledriving merciless version of Diablo, Take Me Home, the blistering stomper Move Like A Ghost and of course the beguiling and haunting Witching Hour, which they performed with such panache. Saint Agnes are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment. They are a band who have honed their craft so well and they play with a commanding attitude. They certainly seem to have the wind in their sales. 

Welcome To Silvertown, their debut record, from their own label, has been one of the standout albums on the year with its raw production and uncompromising style. This is a band who are starting to turn heads from further afield and I don’t think it will be long before these guys start playing in bigger venues. They’ve got the sound and the confidence to do so and this was their time to show us that they are ready for the big push to take it up to the next level. These guys are scarily good – I for one wouldn’t think twice of meeting them in the witching hour to see what they’re capable of conjuring up next . . . .