London’s punk rock trio Kenneths(4/5) are an the personification of authentic modern punk. Comprised of a wacky mohawked guitarist/singer, a thunderous female drummer and a striking bassist (it’s so refreshing to actually be able to hear the bass lines in a heavier genre, intensifying the band’s already upbeat sound), the Kenneths provide something different to this easily stagnant, poser yielding genre. ‘What Happened To The Radio’ saw the frontman using members of the crowd as make shift mic stands, and shifts in tempo break into something kind of 60s rock’n’roll towards the end of the song. There’s an old school feel to the band, and you can tell their influences vary across the different decades of punk; their recorded material sounds very old school and fuzzy but this works so well for their sound. The band have already supported Mallory Knox and played Warped Tour, so 2016 will surely see the band still going from strength to strength. FFO: The Offspring, Joan Jett, Green Day
The real question on everyone’s lips is why aren’t The Tuts more famous? The West London all girl band are brash, witty and gritty, but in no way that’s forced or embarrassing. Sharp lyrics, lax cool girl vocals, pop hooks, clashing tinny drums and surfy indie guitars fuse to assemble the foundations of The Tuts’ social prejudice fighting anthems (which makes them a brilliant SB6 support act.) Bassist Harriet provides angelic harmonies to frontwoman Nadia’s Lily Allen sweet but audacious vocals, but drummer Bev steals the show with her vigorous drumming that shows no mercy. Listen to the band once and you’ll have their personal, attitude driven yet indestructibly rosy choruses stuck in your head for days. FFO: Kate Nash, Tacocat
Sonic Boom Six have been a band for over ten years, yet 2015 has arguably been their best yet - or the year where it seems that they are at their most complete selves. It’s not just the crowdfunding campaign the band have implemented for their upcoming fifth album dubbed ‘The F Bomb’ (which frontwoman Laila says will be available early next year), which, at the time of this review, has reached a whopping 149% of their goal; but the songs actually featured on the record, a handful of which were played tonight. It gets boring when bands keep ranting about the same things, particularly in SB6′s case where socio-political issues dominate their lyrics - it can make people think that this is the only thing they’ve got to sing about.
While anthems like ‘Virus’ and ‘Piggy in the Middle’ are some of the best songs the band have written, new songs like ‘L.O.V.E’ have a breath of fresh air to them - a sense of rejuvenation, empowerment and positivity that are noticeably absent from previous material. But, as we said in our review of their show at Camden Rocks earlier this year, their latest single ‘No Man, No Right’, IS the best song the band have ever put out, period. It’s a boneafied ska party anthem, featuring exceptionally smart and witty, but not cocky, feminist lyrics - and comes with a pretty hilarious fan featured video. It’s sad to think there hasn’t been a feminist tune this good since No Doubt’s ‘Just A Girl’ - and in this day and age it’s needed more than ever. ‘No Man, No Right’ is on par with Gwen Stefani’s jab at the mistreatment of women, and is even more of a reason to love the Manchester five piece.
As Laila put it, Sonic Boom Six are back. And better than ever. FFO: early No Doubt, Random Hand
