Wrapped up in the finest tailored suits, Leeds three-piece Nosebleed lay the gauntlet down in their breathless debut album ‘Scratching Circles on the Dancefloor’. They’re here to demonstrate the pure ethos of a Nosebleed party – to which anyone who has witnessed them in the flesh can attest – a frantic, dizzying, encapsulating burst of rock and roll.
The shimmying garage punks fly out of the gates from the get-go on this whirlwind of a record, and after 22 chaotic minutes, you’re left wondering what on earth just happened.
Recreating a ferocious live show onto a studio album is a difficult process. How to bottle the veracity, and ensure it transfers into the unassuming ears of even the casual listener? But there needn’t have been any worries here, as from the first searing yelp from frontman Elliott Verity on ‘I’m Okay’, the scene is set for madness to ensue.
Without skipping a beat they crash into ‘I’m Shaking’, which fuses together psychobilly with lo-fi guitar tones that are reminiscent of The Hives. Every track is packed to the brim with frantic beats, swirling riffs and an almost crooning drawl from Verity. Title track ‘Scratching Circles’ provides just a little respite with its stuttering verse, but this is completely blown away by ‘Can’t Stay Here’.
Behind the rock and roll floor-fillers, there is angst, punched with a snarl. Verity’s deranged, almost spooked vocals give the sense of being in an abandoned building and jumping at the sound of the wind creeping through the windows. The spluttering ‘Kick Me When I’m Down’ and the rasping ‘Can’t Tell You Anything’ are testament to this feeling, and there is the creeping sense of paranoia on the horror punk reprise of ‘Psycho’.
Once the final chord of closer ‘What You Have Done’ rings out, there is finally a chance to breathe. It’s a rollercoaster of an album that delivers on its ambition of capturing the essence of Nosebleed’s intense live shows. It promises a party and delivers it, dripping the blood, sweat and tears through thirteen slabs of riotous punk rock. It gobbles you up and spits you out, leaving only the bright lights of the day to pierce through your eyes.
‘Scratching Circles on the Dancefloor’ provides a window into the madness of a Nosebleed party. This is rock and roll presented in some of the finest threads and well-heeled shoes this side of the Pennines – you have to look your best at a Nosebleed party after all.
TOM WALSH