KOYO | Oceanless | Concrete Forest
The Castle Hotel, Manchester
9th February 2025
A recent Facebook music group conversation went along these lines:
– Wouldn’t it be great if they revived a serious music programme like The Old Grey Whistle Test?
– There just aren’t enough decent rock bands out there to justify it any more.
– There are loads of great bands, but you need to know where to find them. All they need is a bit of exposure.
Should the Beeb or anyone else ever decide to take a chance and do their bit to promote the best of our non-mainstream talent on prime-time TV, they need look no further than KOYO to confirm the veracity of that last statement. While prog is ironically thought by many to be a ’70s anachronism, KOYO are progressive in the true sense of the word: pushing musical boundaries, taking what has gone before and moving in new directions. This is dynamic, imaginative music for the 21st Century, delivered with skill and aplomb – the stunning Onism album undoubtedly providing one of the highlights of 2024. The gig continues the second of two back-to-back mini tours in support of the record, and the venerable institution which is The Castle Hotel is fortunate indeed to have featured in both.
Tonight’s support acts have plenty to recommend them. Young Manchester-based Concrete Forest combine elements of alt-rock, indie and pop to provide a varied set, with dual guitarists swapping lead and rhythm duties and engaging singer Joe Denyer delivering an assured performance. Recent single Stockholm proves to be a highlight.
Oceanless, now a pared-down two-piece, are Brummies who have also opted for a Mancunian location. Singer/guitarist Will McGarrie and drummer George Sheasby seem to be having a whale of a time in front of their own little band of supporters, with Will’s gravelly voice nicely offset by George’s more mellow backing vocals. This Feeling is a grungy rabble-rouser and closer, Bad Habits, initiates a mini-mosh pit.
It’s typical of KOYO’s down-to-earth attitude that keyboard player Jacob Price doesn’t start proceedings with the usual ‘Hey Manchester – how y’all doing?’ kind of thing, preferring instead to thank the sound guy for the ‘sick playlist’. Without further ado, the band open the set, as they do the new album, with a romp through the thrilling ode to the not so humble cockroach (one of those sentences you never thought you’d write), La Cucaracha. The track crescendos to a breathtaking wall of sound, giving an early opportunity for the four outstanding musicians to flex their muscles. A heavy rendition of the dreamy Circles from the You Said It album follows, as mercurial singer/guitarist Huw Edwards dons his favourite Cobain shades, and then it’s bang up to date again with the brooding Mechanical Bull, featuring criminally underused cowbells, thunderous bass and impossibly intricate guitar work from Edwards.
It’s immediately evident that KOYO are an exceptionally professional collective, and there’s a real sense of togetherness which exudes from the stage. Their democratic approach sees bass player, Layth Ibrahim, take centre-stage sporting Metallica t-shirt, while Edwards and Price share song introductions. And despite the cramped environs of The Castle and the band’s no-frills approach, they manage to provide quite a spectacle, with Jacob’s flailing locks and stamping feet, the boiler-suited Huw’s fretwork pyrotechnics, and the mesmerizing rhythm section of Layth and drummer Tom Higham keeping us entranced.
As Jacob urges a slightly reticent Sunday audience forward so ‘We can get to know each other’, the fun continues with one of the standout singles, Hooked – an absolute powerhouse of a record, which segues seamlessly into the sublime Electric Eel, a wonderful work of unbridled lyrical and musical imagination. A whirlwind Out Of Control and the second album’s title-track You Said It, keep up the momentum, the latter heralded by insistent bass and swirling keys and showcasing Huw’s distinctive high-range vocals. Dark Horse provides a dazzling instrumental workout with Higham, a drummer who could switch from laid-back jazz to full-on metal without missing a beat, truly coming to the fore. Early single Jettisoned gradually builds to an earth-shaking climax which sees signs of headbanging breaking out at the front, leaving time for one more song – and what a song it is. Stoneman brings it all together with a deceptively chilled, funky intro and verse, gloriously uplifting chorus and captivating middle 8, with some quite beautiful keyboard work from Price.
The post-gig vibe is that Leeds-based KOYO (definitely not to be confused with the American group of the same name) are a band which deserves to be playing not just bigger stages, but big stages. Although their show more than stands up on the merits of their musicianship and demonstrates an endearing lack of pretension, there’s no doubt they could carry off a full-on production job. You can see it now; spectacular light show, psychedelic back-drop and billowing dry ice (ok, hold the dry ice) – not to mention a bit of room to move.
A young guy who has presumably wandered into the gig unchallenged asks Huw the name of the band which has just played. He modestly replies, ‘KOYO – I’m the singer’, and the beaming ‘You were amazing!’ sums up the thoughts of everyone there. Even LTW photographer MK Bennett is moved to buy a couple of vinyl albums, and he is a man of impeccable taste. A few more southerly shows remain on this tour (see below), and anyone who can make it should grab the opportunity. But with a revitalized KOYO apparently enjoying themselves as much as ever, it hopefully won’t be too long before more shows and releases are announced and we can do it all again.
~
All words by Robin Boardman. More writing from Robin for Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive.
Photographs: M K Bennett
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- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
