Charlie Pinhey
Music journalist & online sub-editor for CLUNK Magazine based in Bristol. Fumbling around on social media trying to tell people about my interviews and reviews. Follow me @charvawritesstuff
If there’s one thing I can get behind, it’s one of the band holding up a handwritten placard to announce what song is coming up next. That way there can be no confusion about what song is currently playing and what song is to come. Perhaps calling it a placard is too official and doesn’t do University’s bedroom aesthetic on stage any justice. Some of the letters have been given too much room on the slab and others had to be sandwiched on one side to fit on the page. It’s childish and endearing at the same time and, together with Eddie Leigh sat on stage playing video games (something else I can also get behind), paints a picture of an introvert separate from the outside world.
University opened with ‘History Of Iron Maiden Pt.2’ – with the ‘Pt’ and the ‘2’ having to tessellate into one another to fit on the page and The Louisiana’s performance space immediately filled with hoarse vocals and heavy, screeching guitars with everyone in the room along for the ride. Eyes darted up and down Zak Bowker’s guitar as dug ever deeper into a lower resonance.
University are a noise rock band who have an incredibly a varied catalogue. Live however, they hit each song harder with a fierce and brutal honesty. Even with ‘GTA Online’, which has a comparatively mellow first half, the band came flying out of the blocks with the track. Joel Smith and Ewan Barton locked in with Bowker, whilst Eddie Leigh racked up kills on his screen.
Space was made in the set for University’s latest song ‘Bee’. Panicked and primeval, at times, ‘Bee’ seemed to carry on and follow the crowd out as they left the space with people stomping and humming the thrash guitar riff.
Amongst all the chaos, University ooze memorability. Video games? Riffs? I’m in!