Decked out with an array of balloons and banners, YES’s pink room and balcony played host to multiple DJs and bands for the 25th birthday party of the seminal record label and music night, Akoustik Anarkhy. Throughout the evening, I witnessed three soon-to-be guiding lights of the Manchester music scene: Mleko, Holly Head, and Martial Arts.
I, unfortunately, miss Open Fly’s 6.35 pm slot, making it to the Pink Room in time to grab a pint and wade to the front of the semi-sparse crowd as Mleko takes the stage. They kick things off with ‘As it Goes’ – ‘that’s a new track we wrote this afternoon,’ frontman Ed informs us and the snappy number fires up the increasingly rowdy crowd.
Setlist mainstays ‘Marxist Midlife Crisis’ and ‘Lego Sex’ are, as ever, standout tracks which see every member of the seven-person line-up play their part adeptly, with a zealous passion that gradually diffuses into the crowd. Another new track, ‘Gubbin Rock’, is received warmly and by the time the closing track, ‘White Picket Fences’ rolls around Mleko is at their optimum. It’s difficult to tell who’s having more fun – the band or the audience as guitarist Rory and bassist Myron joke around and Ed’s onstage stoicism slips as he breaks into a grin.
It’s another impressive display from Mleko. After their set, I tell them it’s the best they’ve sounded and while they respond with usual modesty, I get the feeling that they think so too. Despite not yet releasing any material, the band tell me they’re working hard in the studio and to expect a single or two in the coming months.
A brief interlude and another few beers ensue as DJ Ed Bayley spins a selection of ambient, acid-infused tracks. Before long it’s time for Holly Head – the four-piece is full throttle from the get-go as they rage into a pulverising slew of punk-driven hits.
Unusually, the band – perhaps as a rebellion against the concept of traditional stage set-ups – have their vocalist Joe in the corner of the stage and bassist Liam front and centre. He makes for interesting viewing as he bounces around, his bass looking like it’s moments away from flying out of his grasp and into the pit of onlookers below, in contrast to the rest of the band’s static nature.
Debut single, ‘No Gain’, is a set stand out. The track’s diffuse influences see driving bass lines matched with groovy dance riffs which juxtapose its themes of isolation, boredom and fatigue. I later hear that the lyrics came to Joe whilst locked in a police cell after an arrest due to protesting and it’s unsurprisingly a song that wears its anger on its sleeve. What you have in Holly Head is a band who practice what they preach.
‘You looking forward to some Martial Arts?’ Mleko saxophonist Tom asks me with a grin before getting lost in the sea of spectators on their way to get a good view of the headliners. The excitement is palpable as the band emerges on the fog-filled stage and Martial Arts wastes little time with prelims, charging head-on into their brand of high-intensity post-punk.
‘Defector’, the band’s second single, is undoubtedly a high point of the night. The powerful Sonic Youth-esque riffs send the crowd into forrays of ecstasy and guitarist Matthew Pearce’s direct delivery of the chorus, ‘I wouldn’t know where to start, drawing pictures in the dark,’ makes for a goosebump-inducing moment. The live rendition lends the track an additional dimension and after listening to it non-stop during a half-hour taxi ride home to Bury, I’m convinced it’s one of the 2024’s best singles.
Latter set highlights include singles ‘Warsaw’ and ‘Triumph’, both of which send the front section of the audience into waves of euphoric collision. Jim Marson makes for an enigmatic frontman, sharing on-stage qualities with Deadletter’s Zac Lawrence in presence and antics. At one point, he hops the barrier, slaloms through the crowd and instructs them to crouch down before arriving back on stage to let loose in time with an eruptive wall of sound.
More whipsmart lyrics are matched with myriads of thrashing guitars and tireless percussion work before things come to an abrupt end. Martial Arts leave the stage to a resounding reception – it’s a testament to their talent that they can attract so many admirers and headline such an event despite only releasing three singles.
The fun continues into the early hours in celebration of Akoustik Anarkhy and the array of victorious displays attendees were treated to from some of Manchester’s finest grassroots bands.
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📸 CREDIT: ESTHER ROBERTS / @solojp3g