Upstairs in The Bodega was the perfect intimate setting for a rising act on the indie-rock scene, Gengahr. The four-piece from London have worked their way up by supporting established bands such as Wolf Alice, The Maccabees and Dry the River as well as touring the festival circuit this Summer with appearances at Field Day, Reading & Leeds and even bagging a prime-time spot at Latitude on the iArena stage; it’s safe to say that Gengahr are a hard-working group who deserve every captivated listener they receive.
They may not appear dynamic at every turn, but with earphones in and eyes shut, you won’t be able to help yourself from becoming entranced by the bands swirling, melodic creations. Before you know it, hours will have gone by and you’ll still want more of Gengahr’s delicate, yet haunting, sound.
The group attracted a range of ages in the crowd, even including members from Nottingham band, Dog is Dead. Despite the varied audience, every person was hooked from the first lines of opener, ‘Dizzy Ghosts‘ with front-man Felix Bushe’s harrowing vocals: “Curse, all I know about being idle / When I think of what I’ve done.” The boys, Felix, Hugh, Danny and John kept the undivided attention of the crowd with near-perfect renditions of songs ‘Heroine’ and ‘Bathed in Light’, both also from the well-received debut album A Dream Outside, released in June of this year via Transgressive records.
“Hours can go by and you’ll still want more of Gengahr’s delicate, yet haunting, sound”
A particular highlight came during the middle of the set in the form of ‘Loki’, the last song from their latest offering, EP Tired Eyes. The band reached a new level during this track as the soft, wispy vocals were matched by the distinguished quivering guitars from John Victor who spiralled into a magnificent guitar solo tingling the spines of every crowd member there; he also showed innovation when he added a mini-keyboard to his musical repertoire.
The spooky, groovy sounds during ‘Dark Star’ are enough to sway any neutral listeners into avid supporters as the band proved that they don’t need to rely on Bushe’s incredible falsettos. If you want a heavy moshing gig to throw your body around to, this isn’t for you; however, the crowd seemed more than happy with the mellow atmosphere on offer that they swayed and nodded their heads jauntily to. It was extremely refreshing not to be surrounded by a sea of smart phones recording the performance, it was clear that the spectators were too engrossed in the music to care about posting copies of the gig on multiple social media platforms.
“It was extremely refreshing not to be surrounded by a sea of smart phones recording the performance”
The crowd’s response to the opening chords of Gengahr’s first single ‘Fill My Gums With Blood’ was one of pure awe as the song echoed through the room, they began reciting the lyrics and you could feel a genuine connection with the performers. The same goes for penultimate song ‘Lonely As A Shark’ and final song ‘She’s A Witch’, which were played once the band shuffled back on stage after being applauded back for an encore to the near capacity venue. The crowd were undoubtedly mesmerised by the dreamy vocals and the woozy guitar riffs as they sang with confidence back to the band, the dark lyrics reflected seamlessly with the Autumnal turn of the year.
Ellen Hutchinson
