Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
A new album by Yorkshire post-punk/gothic rock pioneers The March Violets was always going to be an exciting prospect simply because founding members Rosie Garland (vocals) and Tom Ashton (guitar) would never sully the band’s legacy by producing anything substandard. And said album, ‘Crocodile Promises’, is anything but substandard. An album for these unsettling times, cometh the hour, cometh the band, and to make it even better; the chance for Violets fans to hear new material live in the flesh with a handful of live UK shows that included a much-talked-about set at Blackpool’s legendary Rebellion Festival. Tonight though, it’s Glasgow, and it’s the last night of the UK leg of the tour.
After a few issues with the drum machine where Rosie asks everyone to “…embrace the purple chaos…” Set opener ‘Crow Baby’ finally kicks in and heads and bodies start swaying in time to the music pouring out of the darkness. Garland’s vocals are as mesmerising as ever and it’s spooky how relevant some of the lyrics to ‘Crow Baby’ are some 30+ years later: “Rebels without revolution/Fake messiah scheme/On the back of dead religion looking at me/Falsify the words of wisdom/There’s no wild tribe”.
Each song is introduced with a short pun by Garland that gives a clue to what follows; in the case of ‘Radiant Boys’ “We are now going to go ever further back in time to probably the first song that we ever wrote…back in 1781…it is ‘Radiant Boys’…” and the pesky issues with the drum machine have been resolved as it kicks in behind the swishing, razor-sharp riffs from Tom Ashton – who is on one side of Garland, with bassist Mat Thorpe on the other. ‘Made Glorious’ is welcomed to the stage by Garland declaring “…you are absolutely gorgeous, you are delicious, and what else?…what else could you be? Let’s say you could be glorious…made glorious”. The crowd are loving it, and play along with every intro.
Who had The March Violets down on their 2024 bingo card as producing one of the standout albums of the year? The first visit to the new album comes in the guise of ‘Hammer the Last Nail’ (dedicated to “…anyone out there who is fed up with, toxic, narcissistic, right-wing, Tory bullshit…”) and the tone that Tom Ashton coaxes out of his guitar is utterly gorgeous. Sandwiched in amongst cornerstone legacy moments like ‘Grooving in Green’, and ‘1 2 I Love You’, are new favourites-in-the-making such as the intoxicating ‘Crocodile Teeth’ and the pulsating ‘Heading for the Fire’ (where bassist Mat Thorpe more than earns his crust).
Juggling newer material with older staples is never easy, and the setlist is a masterclass in satisfying diehard fans while keeping it relevant by slipping in choice cuts from the new album. And apart from the guy who keeps shouting for ‘Bon Bon Babies’, there is something for everyone.
Tonight it’s dark in the venue. Helluva dark. So dark that it’s only once the houselights come on at the end of the set that it becomes apparent how mixed the crowd is, age-wise. And it must be a thrill for the band that there are so many young fans in attendance.
The future’s bright, and the future is purple.
‘Crocodile Promises’ is available now via Metropolis Records, more information HERE.
Review – Dave
Photo credit – Toni Slater
It truly was a magnificent night and, as an old original Goth from 1984 (64 years old now) I appreciated the classics from my days with the new material. Long may The Violets carry on.