Four bands, three weeks and a whole bunch of new records to try and squeeze into half-hour sets. Mallory Knox have hit the road with two of the UK’s hottest new acts and an old emo heartthrob to bring one final night of musical excellence to Camden’s Electric Ballroom.
Kicking the night off in a tremendous style are Buckinghamshire outfit Fort Hope. Storming into new single ‘Plans’ the guys certainly know how to make an entrance. They sound positively huge tonight and each song delivers a dollop of throbbing bass lines and crashing drums, with Jon’s vocals soaring out and filling the room. Teasing newer material as well as performing favourites such as ‘Control’, their set is only further evidence that they have a strong year ahead of them.
Next up, the modern day heroes of emo. Moose Blood have had an incredibly successful year, recording and releasing their debut album, as well as blagging some great tour slots, everything seems to be going pretty well. Three weeks of touring has obviously taken its toll slightly on the guys, as they appear a little weary, that said however they deliver their melancholic anthems with style and ease. ‘Boston’ and ‘I Hope You’re Miserable’ go down a treat with the fans in the crowd and the band are thankful for every single moment.
Final support for the evening comes from the man that has been one of the biggest hypes of the year. Frank Iero, small and humble, takes to the stage and within an instant transforms into a punk hero. Thrashing his way through tracks off his debut album ‘Stomachaches’, it’s amazing to see so much raw energy and passion come from him and his band. The set was full-throttle from start to finish and it’s clear he’s waved his My Chem years goodbye and replaced them with an old-school punk sound with a fresh twist.
The band to blame for this almighty tour, for three solid weeks of touring the UK and for selling out the Electric Ballroom so fast they had to book an extra date, is Mallory Knox. In celebration of their sophomore record ‘Asymmetry’, which managed to gain a Top 20 chart position, this tour has taken them the length and breadth of the country and it all comes to an end tonight, there second night in a row at the infamous Camden venue.
‘QOD II’ and ‘Shout at the Moon’ kick things into gear as the room packs out to witness how far this band has come in the past twelve months. Everything has been taken up a notch this time around, production levels are more impressive and everything appears and sounds a lot more powerful than previous, and as they burst into fan favourite ‘Hello’ the room erupts, with everyone jumping and screaming the words back.
Not to forget their routes, Knox perform the ever familiar ‘Oceans’ with a ‘Resuscitate’ twist, taken from the ‘Pilot’ EP that first threw them into the alternative scene back in 2011. Blending this with a strong collection of tracks from their debut full-length ‘Signals’ we’re reminded of the hard-work and graft these five lads have put into getting themselves to this point in time, and you only need to look around the room to see the connection they’ve made with so many people.
Tracks from the new record receive just as much of a warm welcome as those from the past, with the likes of ‘Getaway’, ‘When Are We Waking Up’ and in particular ‘She Took Him To The Lake’ sounding phenomenal in the Electric Ballroom. The latter bringing us into the first part of the encore, building slowly with just three members on stage, before they all come together for one final blowout. ‘Lighthouse’ is unsurprisingly the final farewell in tonight’s setlist, with the whole crowd up on their feet one last time.
It’s been an incredible few months for Mallory Knox as they ride upon the wave that ‘Asymmetry’ has created and it’s fantastic to see a band grow from something small to one of the best this country has to offer. And, things are only going to get bigger and better from here on out.
TAMSYN WILCE