Four stories down in the Outernet district in the centre of London, modern venue HERE was the perfect location to spend an evening with Dublin’s The Murder Capital. The sound, energy and performance was loud and unafraid from start to finish, leaving me with ringing ears and bruised hips; signs of a great gig. February saw the release of the band’s tenacious and multifaceted third album Blindness, with them touring it in Australia, New Zealand and Tokyo before embarking on a UK and EU tour. London was the penultimate show of the UK leg, and you could tell the band had already honed their performance and setlist by this point.
London-based alternative rock band Cusk opened the show, quickly setting the tone for the night that followed. A new project fronted by actress Esme Creed-Mills, the band have already developed a refined sound, playing a half hour set of unreleased songs that left the audience wanting more. Often starting quiet, the momentum built in each song to heavy, layered choruses, showcasing not only Creed-Mill’s impressive vocals, but also the talents of the rest of the band with powerful guitar chords, loud drums, heavy bass and expressive violin. Cusk fits well into the growing experimental rock scene in London – be sure to keep an eye out for them if you’re a fan of artists such as Black Country, New Road and Man/Woman/Chainsaw.
Despite spanning different ages and demographics, the anticipatory buzz was shared by everyone in the crowd in the half an hour wait preceding The Murder Capital’s set. HERE’s large digital backdrop was illuminated with the band’s logo and the crowd erupted with energy as the Irishmen entered the stage, going straight into The Fall, a bold and cathartic single from Blindness full of the band’s signature emotional intensity, transitioning seamlessly between loud crashing guitars and rhythmic simplicity. This was followed by More is Less, another fervent post-punk anthem, this time from their debut When I Have Fears. From the get-go, energetic chaos ensued in the crowd, as frontman James McGovern immediately gestured to open up the pit. A frenzied mass of bodies crashed and swirled, shortly followed by crowd surfers making their way to the front atop the crowd, commended by McGovern.
With three albums under their belt, the band had plenty to choose from when assembling the 20 song setlist. With Blindness occupying about half of the set and the rest made up from both their previous albums, the construction was such that the energy ebbed and flowed throughout the night, building up to powerful crescendos before giving the crowd moments to breathe during their slower songs. A Blindness heavy setlist was certainly not a complaint for myself or the rest of the crowd; the songs were sung back to the band with enthusiasm despite the album only being out a couple months. I would have also welcomed the only omission from the 11 song album, Born Into The Fight, into the set with open arms.
After the high energy start, the performance continued in crashing waves of energy and intensity intermixed with more brooding, contemplative songs such as A Distant Life and Heart In The Hole, although crowd movement rarely subsided. The mid-set breather came in the form of Slowdance I and Slowdance II, but with no less power, emotion suspended between the band and audience. This saw the band gathering around Diarmuid Brennan on drums, as the haunting and atmospheric instrumentals washed over the stage and crowd.
Adorned in tartan skirt, green trousers, zip up jacket and dark glasses, McGovern commanded the stage throughout the evening with the presence and ego of any great frontman, not scared to navigate to the very edge of the stage and lean into the crowd, leg up on a speaker in triumphant poses. The addition of For Everything to the setlist (which had been missing for the last couple shows) exemplified this showmanship, with McGovern shaking his tambourine in an intense, matador-esque pose as the song gained momentum, before moving to the front of the stage to sing the powerful baritone vocals, blending aggression with introspection.
Although moments of talking to the crowd were few and far between, The Murder Capital have never shied away from standing up for their values. Towards the end of the set McGovern led the crowd in an impassioned chant of “free free Palestine” whilst the screen was illuminated with the Palestinian flag. Love of Country followed, the stripped-back yet charged song that explores the dark side of patriotism, ending the band’s main set on a moment of pure raw emotion. It was one of the first moments of stillness in the crowd as every member remained captivated by the impassioned vocals, before the song built up to its angry end, with everyone joining in to sing “could you blame me for mistaking your love of country for hate of man?”. The band exited to the stage to a roaring applause.
To the crowd’s delight the band were back with a three song encore, finishing off the set with Trailing a Wing, followed by fan favourites Ethel and Words Lost Meaning. With constant movement and emotion from song one until twenty the crowd was exhausted (and in my case bruised) by the end, yet every person in that room would’ve jumped at the chance of experiencing the high all over again. The Murder Capital are only getting better, with both the album and performance demonstrating the dynamic talent of the band, refusing to be constrained by genres. Blindness is going to take The Murder Capital far.
