Live Review + Gallery | Frozemode @ Camden Assembly, London

Frozemode

Camden Assembly, London

1st February 2024

Photography by Hannah North

Hannah North

Freelance Journalist for CLUNK and photographer. Based in London, but you can often find me in Bristol.

London grime-punk trio Frozemode bring their chaotic sound to the Camden Assembly

Punk and grime may feel like diametrically opposed genres of music, but London trio Frozemode are here to prove otherwise. Thursday night at the Camden Assembly was a hometown gig for I.V.GATLIN, Cho-Hollo, and Lisong, and they brought the energy to match it.

The entirety of their set was electrifying and dripping with power. Frozemode were armed with their mics, as well as a live band behind them, which gave the room a sense of liveness that some may not associate with the grime scene. Many words spring to mind when reflecting on the performance — riotous, chaotic and singular are just a few.

One of the first things I noticed about the trio was just how fun they were having; they didn’t take themselves too seriously as they threw themselves around the stage. There’s a real sense of enjoyment the group seem to get from live performance. This is almost doubled when you see how much Frozemode interacts with the crowd. From pouring spirits into the mouths of audience members, to taking someone’s BeReal for them, the group performs with the crowd rather than for them. As a result, the room felt like a community.

And then there was the music. In your face in the best way, the relentless bars mixed with heavy guitars created a sound unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Their music is genre-defying, but it fills a long felt gap. Though rap and punk had their roots at separate times with different cultures, the ideals are the same, as are the homegrown aspects of many of the acts. Frozemode completely encapsulated this in their set, tapping into London life and the struggles of youth with the ferocity the group are known for.

Check out the full gallery below: