The Murder Capital - QMU 15 Feb 2020
The Murder Capital are a five piece Irish post-punk band based in Dublin. They released their debut album When I Have Fears in August 2019 and have been touring it since, growing a bigger reputation day by day.
Due to some travel difficulties, thanks “Storm Dennis” I arrive too late to catch the first support band but I’m in time for the spoken word performance of Unorthodox Coolock aka Craig Doyle, who gives us a fantastic rendition of his modern poetry, covering friendship, love, death and everything in between and is a great warm up for his fellow Irishmen.
As I look around it is a very mixed crowd, old punks to students, and quite a few Twilight Sad t-shirts on display, I guess the intensity of both bands music is a common bond.
The Murder Capital take to the stage and launch straight into More is Less and the crowd are already bouncing and even more so when lead singer James McGovern at one point leaves the stage and decides to join the crowd, what a blistering start to the night.
The intensity of the evening continues with Green and Blue, who knew that a band from Ireland could inadvertently sing lyrics “I’ll correlate the blue, the green and blue, the green for you” to unite a city often divided by colour.
Thankfully, there comes a bit of respite with the back to back playing of Slowdance I and Slowdance II which are certainly mellower numbers but nevertheless emotionally charged as the band get to highlight their undoubted talent with a brooding James’ vocals.
Next up is On Twisted Ground dedicated to friends who are no longer here, and is a song driven by the bassist Gabriel Pascal Blake and is a very emotional ballad, highlighting a much more melodic side to McGovern’s vocals, it is a song that I has clear meaning to the band and holds the crowd almost in captivated silence.
Love Love Love is another from their catalogue of visceral post punk, chiming bass delivered by the pedals of Pascal Blake and hooking the crowd from the off.
Next up we have the buzzing intro of For Everything building into the intense drums and bass that allow the almost spoken word of McGovern’s lyrics before the screeching guitars whip the crowd into a bouncing frenzy chanting back “For Everything for Nothing”. The pace doesn’t drop any with “Don’t Cling to Life” with all members of the band throwing some shapes on stage that match any in the crowd and is probably my favourite track of the night.
The last song of the set Feeling Fades continues the anarchy that has been whipped up over the last few songs and sees McGovern once more end up in the arms of the crowd still belting out the lyrics.
It ends a great set and would be remiss for not to mention the other band member Cathal Roper and Damien Tuit on guitars and Diarmuid Brennan on drums as they were all excellent.
Setlist
More is Less
Green and Blue
Slowdance I
Slowdance II
On Twisted Ground
Love Love Love
For Everything
Don’t Cling to Life
Feeling Fades
The Murder Capital on tonight’s performance are a band heading for the big time in the near future, catch them in intimate venues whilst you can.
In the meantime have a listen to what was my favourite of the evening: