One of Nottingham's most exciting bands head to Rescue Rooms to perform tracks from their latest EP Soft Soap...
On Thursday night, I headed down to Rescue Rooms to catch a set from one of Nottingham’s most exciting young bands – Cucamaras!
This was my sixth time seeing them, making them my most seen band ever. Nevertheless, I was excited to hear some unreleased songs and enjoy the best of their latest EP Soft Soap.
Technical issues thwarted the beginning of the set, which must have frustrated the band who looked very eager to get going, but eventually the issues were sorted, and they could finally play their first song in full.
Whilst I was looking forward to hearing unreleased songs, I thought that opening the set with one was a strange choice. One of their popular songs such as Safe Bet or even new single Porcelain would’ve excited the crowd more.
Next up was another unreleased song Greener Lands – a song that Cucamaras have been playing for at least a year, so I’ve begun to recognise it! It’s sharp and snappy, with a lot of power, and I’m looking forward to its eventual release soon (hopefully!).
Then came the first released song of the night, Policeman, with an intense guitar intro that sounded great live. But it’s lead singer Olly Bowley’s vocals that make the song, with his post-punk style becoming angrier as the song continues. Sporting a pair of sunglasses for the first section of the show, he commandeered the stage expertly with his angular movements.
Cucamaras rolled back the years to perform their 2020 releases Keep It Cool and Window Seat in the middle of the set. These songs have more of a traditional indie sound than their punkier new releases, and it was a good way to keep the set fresh.
Whilst Bowley tends to take centre stage on most Cucamaras songs, one of the things that differentiates them from a lot of other bands is the use of guitarist Joshua Hart’s voice for some songs. He really shines on Safe Bet, finishing the song on a fantastic held note.
Hart’s stage presence is instantly likeable, and he tended to take the lead on crowd engagement, even instigating a mosh pit for Safe Bet. After being fairly calm for most of the gig, this mosh pit signalled the start of an energetic crescendo of the show, with Cucamaras clearly organising their setlist to finish on their most popular and most high-octane songs such as Winners Chapel and final song Death of the Social.
I was a little disappointed not to hear Same Glue – the only song they didn’t play from their Soft Soap EP. It’s one of my favourite Cucamaras songs for its more emotional tone and addictive guitar line. They only played for just over fourty minutes which is unusually short for a headline set, and whilst it’s understandable that as a band still in its early days they may not have enough songs to fill a longer set time, it was a shame that they couldn’t fit Same Glue in.
Nevertheless, their performance was fantastic, with their crashing guitar harmonies filling the venue. They performed with great energy and were visibly delighted to be playing in their hometown to a sizeable crowd.
Similar bands like Fontaines D.C. and fellow local boys Do Nothing have shown that there’s plenty of appetite for a post-punk sound at the moment, and I believe that Cucamaras have that something special which gives them the potential to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned bands.
I’m sure they’ll be back playing in Nottingham soon (they often play Nottingham festivals such as Beat the Streets and Dot to Dot) and I’d definitely recommend going to see them next time you get the chance!
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
