Above Liverpool’s Rough Trade record store, nearly 400 people clustered amid the ominous red-light hue in their venue space to see The Murder Capital only inches before their eyes, with vinyl copies of their new album ‘Blindness’ dangling from hands, ready for the signing.
Introduced by a friend of the band who chuckled that he’d just lost a bet, with the bandmate’s heads popping cheekily out from backstage, the friendly, joshing atmosphere was quickly set. Taking to the stage with swagger and nonchalance, the band quickly burst into their thumping new track ‘Moonshot’; the small room quickly brimming with pulsing drums and grizzly guitars.
Behind dark and classy shades, frontman James McGovern finished the track crowning the audience “the best fucking yet”. Amid the instant-classics off their new album, the audience were thrilled by the bands beloved fan-favourites such as ‘Don’t Cling to Life’, ‘Ethel’ and ‘Feeling Fades’, with the compactness of the venue bringing the audience, band, and music into one pulsing organism pouring out the same lyrics.
With his typical Irish charm, James entertained his audience with multiple “story-times”, recounting his auntie’s phrase for a cheating man as the inspiration behind the band’s lulling track ‘Trailing a Wing’, and the heroism of the band’s bassist Gabriel Paschal Blake recording an album’s worth of bass lines after food poisoning left him gauntly on death’s door.
A highlight of the gig was the band’s tribute to the late great Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, with their song ‘Death of a Giant’, a charging track encapsulating grief and celebration.
After their final track ‘Love of Country’, the band began their signing, offering smiley handshakes and a warm, down-to-earthness to eager fans; vinyls and CDs at the ready. From growling guitars to friendly hellos and sharpies, The Murder Capital have given it all.
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