Do Nothing, Drug Store Romeos, Legss, Norman – The Social, London – 27th January 2020
by Zak Sloman
At the beginning of Independent Venue Week, music/art magazine So Young put on a gig at The Social in central London to mark the launch of their exhibition showcasing the best artwork from its pages over the last 12 months.
Legss, a four-piece that BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens has made one of his bands to watch in 2020, effectively combined a post-punk sound with brief poetic monologues between tracks. And, despite there being a small hiccup when one of the guitarist’s strings broke, this went down well with the audience, who were glad to see some proper punk spirit. Providing a juxtaposition to this were Hampshire trio Drug Store Romeos, an outfit which must have decided that a less animated, more intimate stage presence was a better way of getting their dreamy pop sound and soft, delicate vocals across to the crowd, which paid off well, as once the set had been completed, there was an enthusiastic round of cheers and applause.
Rounding the evening off were Do Nothing, a collective that have now pretty much established themselves on the British underground music scene with an infectious fusion of post-punk, art-rock, and new wave, coupled with lyrics packed full of humour and razor-sharp wit, and a growing reputation for unpredictable live sets. Whatever was going to happen certainly wouldn’t be disappointing. Over the course of the set, I couldn’t help but notice that more and more members of the crowd were bopping along energetically to the music, as well as singing along to the lyrics, and this kept building up until the final number, when the audience truly let rip, forming a moshpit just in front of the stage, leaving any reservations behind them. On this evidence, then, Do Nothing will surely be making the mainstream breakthrough they so richly deserve at some point in the near future.