LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: REDHOOK AT THE LOWER THIRD, LONDON 25/04/25
Full photo gallery for RedHook here
Full photo gallery for Defences here
There can't be a person alive whose heart isn't immediately warmed by the sound of a friendly Australian accent declaring "You legend!" You'd have to be dead inside for that to not lift your spirits. At The Lower Third in Soho, Sydney mosh royalty RedHook provided a uplifting therapy session for a 250 strong capacity crowd.
In support were a couple of corkers. First up, Eville, a band firmly on message of their Brighton brat metal genre, asked the gathered who was ready to 'fuck the system' before storming through the wild and hectic 'Ballistic'
Singer Eva Sheldrake, gripping her mic with a knuckle duster accessory, exuded aggressive nu-metal mastery. Showcasing new and unreleased tracks; 'No Pictures Please' and 'Get With Me' (Out on 9 May) Eville is a band making noise, making waves and making moves.
Flanked by the orange flames of gothic candelabras, Defences followed with vocalist Cherry Duesbury telling the room "I'm gonna need to see some movement," before an atmospheric 'Gold In The Dark'. The band melded perfectly together with William Alex Young providing keys and guttural, growling screams from the background of the stage.
'Shadowlight' was prefaced as Duesbury's 'favourite thing we've ever done' and described as a track about accepting your inner darkness. Playing not only the title track of their latest album, the set leant on this new era with 'Perish' and 'Breathe It In', a song about accepting the things you cannot control, all going down a storm with the crowd.
'In The Black' and 'Gravity' from earlier in the band's catalogue kept the energy though and the general impression from attendees who were being introduced to the band for the first time was of finding a new favourite.
Cultural stereotypes, while not universally true can quite often manifest anyway, and the idea of Australians being fun, energetic and affable completely fits the vibe of RedHook as a band. From the opening notes of nu-metal coded 'Bomb.com', Emmy Mack, Craig Wilkinson, Ned Jankovik and Alex Powys brought the whole room in for a bounce around that simultaneously felt like a headlock and a warm cuddle.
Taking the Mutation tour to Europe and selling out a decent amount of the venues, RedHook were welcomed in London with all the enthusiasm they brought with them from down-under.
"This is our first ever time headlining London, Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts, this is history for us." Mack expressed her gratitude to the crowd.
Emo pop-rock banger 'Hot Tub' gets the whole room bouncing then during 'Hexxx' and 'Imposter' band members from both support bands were invited up to collab. The sense of community and an appreciation for the scene and those in it has always been RedHook's forte with numerous artists featuring on their tracks, from The Faim and Yours Truly to Holding Absence and more.
Anthemic 'Pyromaniac' saw a different kind of collab, with Mack bringing out a sock puppet, a part their quirky video for the track and we got a warning of "Be careful out there, this one's heavy" before 'Off With Your Head'.
After an invigorating drum solo by Alex Powys, Mack ventured off the stage and straight onto the bar, performing 'Dead Walk' Coyote Ugly style to the delight of everyone that side of the room, but not the one guy who just wanted a beer.
With the promise on the down-low that they may just be back in October - Wink wink, nudge nudge - and a lovely 'Wall of hugs' which looked suspiciously like a wall of death, with slightly prolonged body contact, RedHook wrapped the night up with the ever popular 'Bad Decisions' in which the stage was filled with every performer from the night and Mack launched herself from the bar (Practice what you preach ey?) RedHook irrefutably proved they know how to throw a proper feelgood party.
Words: Imogen Bird
Photos: Florelle Servageon
Full setlist below:
Bomb.com
Dr. Frankestein
Hot Tub
HEXX
Pyromaniac
Off With Your Head
Low Budget Horror
Imposter
Soju
Kamikaze
Jabberwocky
Dead Walk
Cannibal
Bad Decisions