Renowned local institution, The Music Exchange, brought renowned psychedelic juggernaut, Hookworms, to Nottingham’s humble Rescue Rooms.
As an act heavily influenced by the likes of Spacemen 3 (lead singer Jason Spaceman having proclaimed slogans including ‘Drugs not Jobs’) some might file Hookworms as the kind of band who rely on getting ‘lost in the moment’ and not so much precision. Yet MJ is about meticulous as you could get tonight, scrambling at his decks to try and execute the sounds as intended. When equipment wasn’t working right, his signalling to get the amp up got progressively more aggressive to the point where the possibility of there being a break in the gig seemed worryingly realistic.
MJ is about meticulous as you could get tonight, scrambling at his decks to try and execute the sounds as intended
Perhaps coming from working as a producer, how the band sound comes across as just as important as how they play. All this aside, Hookworms manage to maintain an extremely close sense of energy shared with the audience. It’s this duality which is most important in the band’s character – keeping a connection with the audience when the lead singer is having to work on the technical side and the songs themselves have few distinguishable lyrics is no mean feat. However Hookworms remain as an incredibly engaging live act, unlike similar experimental genres like Post-Rock it takes little time to be absorbed in the show, MJ’s crazed performances as frontman now having become an eminent part of their act
A blend of the quieter, melancholic side of space-rock with the swelling build-up of atmospheric shoegaze
As the guys move on to the final few songs, they give one of the tracks off the new album, ‘Off Screen’, a play. A blend of the quieter, melancholic side of space-rock with the swelling build-up of atmospheric shoegaze; it’s an extremely effective juxtaposition to the fast-paced, energetic tracks which have made up most of the set. Precision and execution are something Hookworms know how to pull off – as well as taking the intensity of their shows to psychotic levels.
All photos: Shaun Gordon Photography
Ian Fillingham
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