Static Dress’ meteoric rise into emo stardom continued on an unsuspecting Thursday night at The Bodega...
Since their inception in 2018 they have released a steady stream of songs, culminating in their debut LP Rouge Carpet Disaster last year. With hints of noughties screamo but just enough catchy hooks to keep your ears wanting more, they’ve been topping many 'Best Of' lists as of late. This was my third time seeing them live; first a sweaty, feral affair in a dingy Brummie back room early in 2022 and then, in contrast, supporting Sleeping With Sirens in front of 1500 people. While they blew me away in the smaller venue, the larger gig left me, rather like a confused teenager, longing for that first time once again. Hopeful of gleeful redemption, I marched down Pelham Street and into the venue.
As a general rule I love a four band lineup, and this was no exception. Love Rarely had popped down for the night and were kind enough to bring all their mathy riffs with them. Even on a small stage packed with equipment they had fantastic energy and absolutely earned their place on the lineup. Next up were Body Web with a sound that alternated between airy, grunge inspired alt rock and crushing hardcore. The crowd were a bit warmer by this point and their first breakdown was duly met with a mass of flailing limbs and dodge-or-get-knocked-out spinkicks. Another great band to keep your eye on if you like it fast and heavy, the vocalist even said he was originally from Beeston! Small world.
Main support for the evening was provided by World Of Pleasure, a “proper beatdown band” as my friend described to me. While I might have called them more of a metallic hardcore band myself, genres are just silly words that our pattern seeking monkey brains like to force onto the endless complexity of music and what is unquestionably true is that they were screamy, loud and my Mum would not have liked them. Genetics be damned however, I am not my Mother and I did like them. A lot. The music was infectiously groovy at times and I appreciated the occasional nod towards their straightedge ideology.
In a usually white male dominated genre it was nice to see two female fronted bands on this lineup. Diversity in music can only be a good thing and Static Dress are doing their bit to further that. As World Of Pleasure’s set drew to a close they had the stinky breakdown riffs coming in spades, and I even took my first full on punch to the face in about a year - there’s nothing like it!. I’m going to assume the bassist’s Pantera hat was ironic.
Now for the main event, Static Dress themselves. The lights darkened to reveal the band’s logo flickering on CRT screens, setting a distinct vibe for the evening. They started with album-opener fleahouse which was well received by the audience, the first of nine songs from Rouge Carpet Disaster that were played. Di-sinTer was a great inclusion I had not experienced live before, and my beloved safeword made an extremely welcome return to the setlist. The band had brought their own sound crew along for the evening and it showed as their live mix Beatdown felt similar to their recordings, with the vocals buried a little further back than most modern acts aim for. I think this works well, even in the live setting, going a long way to keep up the nostalgic and mysterious feeling the band aims for.
As always in Nottingham, the crowd were up for a good time. A Bodega circle pit has to be seen to be believed but they really did happen, as well as a multitude of pushy mosh pits. It would have been rude to not take my singular opportunity to stage dive, flipping directly onto a friend’s head. I was hefted nearly the whole way across the room before I made it down, and received an instant offer to go back up again; a perfect example of a fun-loving crowd!
If you like intense gig experiences, look no further than Static Dress, one of the most exciting bands in the UK right now. I do think small venues suit them better at the moment, but as their fanbase grows so will their audience sizes, and soon even the biggest venues will have the same incredible energy that The Bodega did last week. They have a few more dates left on their headline tour, so act fast as after that they’re gone until early next year when they embark on an arena tour with the big boys (Bring Me The Horizon, Bad Omens and Cassyette). I’d be going if I had any money left after my last electricity bill.
Static Dress performed at The Bodega on 9 November 2023
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