There will come a day when we can talk about Fake Major without mentioning their history, although it's not likely to come until after the odd Endor song sneaks its way into their set.
Not that anybody's complaining: Chapel Doors is too perfect and affecting a song to have been retired with the previous band name. Plus the songwriting lineage suggests that the new band's core duo of Richard Ferguson and David "Jarv" McGinty – fleshed out as a five-piece for their first headline show - has real staying power.
Set opener Cotton and Ink is one of those songs that fills a room, with a chorus that builds until it almost becomes smothering. When the song breaks into its repeated refrain it's a much-needed release you can feel through the floor. The addition of a live band to Love in the Mundane adds a crazed mariachi breakdown to a song that in any other hands would be relatively simple.
Croy four-piece Campfires in Winter go from delicate glockenspiel to ear-shattering layers of noise in the tap of a bass drum.
At times they're like a rough and ready Twilight Sad; perhaps because frontman Robert Canavan has the same ability to convey bald, shocking lyrics that could be meant or metaphor in an almost deadpan, before breaking into a primal howl when the mood shifts.
They're not just another noise band though: sweet harmonies and off-mic vocal-only introductions bring a hint of Scottish folk to the mix, and keep things interesting for those who like their heavy rock with a bit of nuance. White Noise is a straight-up rocker, though: you'll sing along if you know the words or punch the air in time if you don't.
HHHH
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