Girl Band at Garbo's review

Image: Girl Band 

There’s a curious energy to Girl Band that exists independently in the ferocity of their sound and their violent demeanour. It is an energy created by the tornado of hype that is surrounding the band at the moment.

Every generation of music fan has their “I was there when...” moment, and you cannot help but ponder the significance of seeing Girl Band at this time. 

Just how significant these gigs will prove to be has not yet been decided, so for now we must attempt to ignore the buzz surrounding them and simply dwell upon the sounds and performances they emit.

As it stands, they are not global superstars. They are a four piece noise-rock band from Dublin, currently touring their debut album Holding Hands With Jamie, released on Rough Trade.

They are in the middle of a small tour, with dates in Ireland, the UK and a few sprinkled around Europe. It is quite a modest affair at the moment, a modesty embodied by an appearance in Garbo’s, a small pub in a small town in the west of Ireland. 

It isn’t the most glamorous of venues, but Girl Band wouldn’t exactly be the most glamorous of bands either. Their set is a wall of noise which pummels into the crowd, leaving a lasting impression on both the body and especially the mind. It is extremely intense and exciting, a sound that feels somehow familiar yet is distinctly their own. 

Their set opens with a series of frenzied wails and screeches which build and build into ‘Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage’, - a cover of techno producer Blawan. It’s loud, aggressive and in an odd, disturbing way, sexy.

The rest of the set sees frontman Dara Kiely thrashing about the stage, screaming at the band into his microphone, all of whom play their respective instruments with a sincere ferocity.

They are not flashy; they do not act up to the crowd. They perform quietly and still as their instruments screech, crunch and crash extremely loudly. It’s a rather marvellous contradiction.

Fan favourite ‘Lawman’ is performed near the end of the set, the peak of which brings about an old fashioned, violent mosh pit. It’s exhausting to even be in the crowd, never mind how it must feel to be onstage.

The sheer effort of being present during their set is perfectly illustrated by Kiely and his pained facial expressions and contortions as he screams and writhes around the stage. 

The group end the gig with ‘Paul’, a seven minute stretch that borders upon agony to experience. The song builds and builds, getting thoroughly under your skin and scraping along the inside of your skull.

The crowd sing along to the words and flail about to the screeches and the noise. The track ends and the band walk offstage and do not return, in spite of the calls for “One more tune!”.  No encore, no bullshit.

Girl Band do not play music that one can sit cross-legged to admire from afar. They have an aura that demands your whole being. If you’re not going to fully commit to them, then it’s questionable as to what you can take from their performances.

If however you are able to immerse yourself within them, to become part of the wall of noise and to thrash about as and when it is required of you, then they might just mean something significant.

Words, however, can only go so far in expressing Girl Band’s appeal. Indeed, even the album which has brought them so much praise and attention of late doesn’t quite capture the essence of their live presence (though it gives it a damn good try).

Girl Band are something to be experienced firsthand. If the hype is to be believed, then these smaller gigs they are playing are numbered, so now is the time to get to them. After all, in twenty years or so you could look back on the experience as your very own “I was there when...” moment.

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