Carpenter Brut (live at Shepherds Bush Empire)

London
5 November 2022

The UK 2022: it’s Saturday and it’s raining; not in a Blade Runner kind of way, with neon lights and futuristic vistas, but in a drab way that only the UK knows how to do with aplomb.

After Covid and Brexit, the UK has crawled out of its own post-apocalypse to become a land of strikes (trains, tubes, buses, Royal Mail, nurses, to name but a few), where the prime minister changes face every few weeks and where the cost to live here has risen exponentially. In the rain on a Saturday with transport strikes, the word dreary sums it up nicely.

People walk about the metropolis like zombies, avoiding being soaked by traffic pummelling into lake-size puddles on unkept main roads. Is there anything that can shake London out of this torpor? This is the stage that Carpenter Brut play their first London show since the pandemic and take us back to a simpler time.

When I arrive at the venue, I’m ushered up to the first floor and told to take photos where I can find a gap. Last time the band played here I was down the front prepared for the closest onslaught of their music possible, so it seemed odd to be so far away; little did I realise it was kind of a blessing in disguise.

The audience all seemed pepped up for something as a massive chant begins for the Backstreet Boys song the DJ plays (a kind of intro that Carpenter Brut have before taking the stage) and the people begin to surge like a tidal wave beginning to break as the band take to the stage with their intro playing. As soon as the first notes of “Straight Outta Hell” begin to hit, then all hell breaks loose, not only on the dance floor but even beside me up on the first level. A writhing mass of humanity moves around dancing, jumping and shouting as if they want to banish what is happening in the cold, damp world outside.

The band is made up of three members: a drummer to the right, guitarist to the left and synth player Franck Hueso with his wheely movable trolley of keyboards and the obvious leader of the band. They play with passion and verve and the kind of energy that is infectious. “The Widow Maker” and “Roller Mobster” hit the audience full on and they respond with a massive mosh pit and loud cheers. The music is dark synthwave, conjuring up the demons of John Carpenter soundtracks, ’80s metal with a bit of Italian prog rock in the form of Goblin thrown in for good measure.

It’s a heady brew of ear-bursting sounds and ’80s satanic imagery that assaults you constantly throughout their performance. “Night Prowler”, “Disco Zombi Italia” and “Colour Me Blood” take no prisoners as the repetitive beats, saw-tooth guitar and majestic synth swells cry out over the gathered throng. Yes, there are melodies as well, mainly played out on the synth as the guitar and drums chug away incessantly.

The people next to me are dancing in a frenzy, all wild-eyed and sweaty as the music hovers over them like some demonic force. This is the release everyone needs and its thanks to the unholy masters onstage that they are getting it.

“Leather Terror” and “Turbo Killer” drag us to the dark recesses of the VHS-era video nasties age and take you back to that time in the ’80s when seeing these movies and indulging in the soundtracks was almost like a secret world. Carpenter Brut are now THAT secret world to their audience. Of course, they finish with “Maniac” from Flashdance where everyone, including myself, chant along.

To prove that synthwave is a growing phenomenon, there were twice as many people at tonight’s show then when I last reviewed them. Carpenter Brut have put in the hard work and are now reaping the rewards of making some excellent music for the last few years that people are only now catching up with. They made everybody step back in time for a short while and forget the modern world.

This even happened to me; until it took me three hours to get home because of a strike. Sometimes it’s good to live in the past.

-Gary Parsons-