Live Review + Gallery | MLEKO @ Castle Hotel, Manchester

Sam Rodgers

Manchester-based freelance journalist and film producer/scriptwriter. Co-founder of Pop Valley Press.

Recently signed to Heist or Hit, MLEKO took their angular sound and post-everything ethos to a new level at sold-out homecoming gig

Post-punk? Art-rock? Prog-rock? Neo-confused folk? MLEKO themselves don’t know, don’t seem to care, and neither should you. The ongoing discussion around their style – one I’ve previously contributed to – has been debated so often that the band coined their own genre: ‘Gub Rock’.

I first saw MLEKO last year at Manchester’s The Rat & Pigeon, just around the corner from Castle Hotel. Since then, they’ve played multiple shows in London, appeared at Sheffield’s Float Along Festival, and supported bands like Martial Arts and Hungry. On Wednesday, the seven-piece released their long-awaited debut single – the appropriately titled ‘Gub Rock.’

There’s a palpable excitement in the Castle’s intimate backroom as frontman Ed Whirledge playfully shouts, “Turn your shit up!” to bassist Myron Endean. He then lets out a series of hyena-like screams into the mic, leading into a charged-up instrumental interlude that bursts into ‘Gub Rock.’

The track pairs a murky, industrial bassline with shattering vocals, cascading between moments of calm, brass-led ambience and untethered violence. It captures MLEKO’s contradictions perfectly: soft yet heavy, elevating yet devastating, vulnerable yet bold. Thriving in the freedom of an unconventional structure, ‘Gub Rock’ sends the crowd bouncing with floor-shaking abandonment.

After Ed thanks the audience and demands they call in sick for work the next day, MLEKO dive into ‘Lego Sex.’ The rendition retains the frenzied energy – co-founding members Myron and Rory Baker can’t help but head-bang during the track’s climax – and it’s biting irony: “To deny a man his one and only muse, leaves a guttural, hollowness, a resin-fuelled solemness,” highlights the cacophonous pivots of Ed’s half-spoken, half-sung delivery.

A chorus of shouts and screams swells again as fan favourite ‘As It Goes’ kicks in, with a murmur from Tom Houston’s sax. This excitement continues into a soaring, hypnotic chorus: “As it goes on, and on, and on.” ‘Burning Houses’, a brand new Talking Heads-esque track, is unique in its danceable experimentation and stilted release of nervous energy. A new direction for MLEKO, ‘Burning Houses’ is a boppy, funky and punky mishmash of groovy basslines and textured keyboard work from Charlotte Nuta, who switches it up from her usual role on trumpet.

A rocky intro kicks off setlist staple, ‘White Picket Fences’, sparking a mosh pit as guitarists Rory and Bruno Evans dive into the crowd. Not to be outdone, Ed joins in the chaos, crowd surfing his way through the song’s finale. After a final thank you to the crowd, the lights come on, signalling the end of a joyous celebration from one of the most exciting live bands to emerge from Manchester in recent years.

With their continual reinvention and experimental drive, MLEKO have cemented themselves as a must-see act. Rather than finding their sound, MLEKO are defining it. Don’t miss the chance to catch them live at their upcoming headline show at Sebright Arms, London, on October 29th, or supporting Man/Woman/Chainsaw at Manchester’s White Hotel in mid-November.

Listen to ‘Gub Rock’ here: