poppedmusic

Berries

COLOURS, London, 6th November 2019

Words: Nick Jacques

It was a special night for the band Berries. They graced the stage at Colours (formerly known as the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen) to promote their new EP Lies along with some exciting support in the shape of Chorus Girl and The Franklys. 

Colours is an interesting venue; it’s both deceptive and welcoming at the same time. From the outside it looks like a trendy bar but once you’re inside and walk through some doors to the side, a proper live set up opens up before you. I found myself immersed in my surroundings immediately and watched the end of Chorusgirl’s opening set and although I only caught a glimpse of them, I was impressed by their indie/shoegazey sound. Somewhere pitched in the spectrum of The Cure’s early days. It was a pleasing start to what would be a brilliant gig! 

I last saw The Franklys play at the Lexington a few years back and to see them rocking out in front of a now packed Colours was a pleasure. Their edgy brand of punk-rock brimmed with confidence and they had a swaggering stage presence too. Great big flailing hair, intricate rumbling bass lines and impressive howling all combined to provide us with a band with a dynamic sound. And having also released an EP this year, I can guarantee that there will be a lot more to come from this sassy and spikey Swedish/English quartet!

It was evident that there was a lot of love and respect between the bands, with both Chorus Girl and The Franklys thanking Berries for letting them join them in celebration of their first EP since their debut EP Those Funny Things from 2016.

After a quick soundcheck, Berries were out of the blocks without any fuss – their effortless blend of tight rhythms, oozing bass grooves and razor-sharp guitar licks were great to behold. The elements combine to make Berries a power trio to be reckoned with! The banter was good to see too and they were pretty humble about the occasion and how much it meant to them. 

All their new tracks off the EP Lies including Discreetly (My current fav track of theirs!) shows the strides in maturity they have made as a band. They write concise, inventive and well-structured songs; the bass and drums complement the riff-driven exploits of Holly’s lead guitar really well. The effect is infectious and I had certainly caught the right kind of bug for once! It was a pleasure to watch the shape of the songs suddenly shift and hear the guitar deliver sweet sucker-punches to our senses.

Since I interviewed Berries at the Camden Rocks festival 2018, they have also played several gigs for Popped Music too and they have flourished.  And judging from the crowd’s response, the band really enjoyed playing their set. There was definitely a positive energy from the crowd and a supportive atmosphere to go with it too. 

All in all, this was a night to remember for Berrys and judging from their reaction to the cheer and applause from the crowd they could not be happier.