Psychedelic Porn Crumpets deliver an exhilarating set in Cambridge
The Perth rockers won over the Cambridge crowd with their unique brand of psych-rock
Photo: Tristan McKenzie
It was a humid and cloudy Sunday in Cambridge, and this was reflected by the general atmosphere of the city. However, through the overcast sky, one ray of hope emerged – tonight was the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets gig. We arrived at the doors of the Junction ready for the show of our lives.
The opening act, Home Counties, stepped onto the stage at 20:00 on the dot, wielding cans of lager and an eclectic assortment of musical devices. I’ve never seen a band swap instruments between themselves so many times but can see why it was necessary to do so for the music, which can only be described as organised chaos. Having used a tambourine in literally every song, they pulled out a second one for the closing track, which I thought was absolutely hilarious. I would thoroughly recommend catching this group when you can.
After a short intermission, in which everyone raced to the bar to stock up on alcohol, the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets stepped up onto stage to thunderous applause and slammed into one of the best sets I’ve ever seen. The musicianship was astounding and I’d forgotten how tight this band is since the first time I had seen them; this time they’re even more impressive, considering the bass player was brought in exclusively for this tour. It is a difficult task to write three guitar parts which complement each other and it’s even harder to pull this off in front of a live audience – but they managed it in spectacular fashion. Between songs, the interactions between frontman Jack McEwan and the crowd were well received, though I struggled to understand him personally; I was surprised by how many people in the audience were fluent in Australian.
The band decided to play a mix of old songs alongside their newer ones, which I found refreshing as they didn’t just play their most popular tracks, instead opting to play the set they simply wanted to. It’s nice to see a band who enjoy playing music from their entire catalogue. In particular, I thought Found God in a Tomato translated fantastically live. The extended instrumental intro built so much tension and the bridge was somehow even better than it sounds on the album – a true masterpiece. Lava Lamp Pisco, a newer track, was a performance to behold. The build up during the bridge made the entire room shake with visceral energy.
This band is most certainly worth seeing if you can get the tickets. They provide one of the most energetic performances, all whilst showing what masterful songwriting and musicianship looks and sounds like. They really stand out against a lot of other artists because of their completely unique sound and exceeded my expectations for the second time.
I’m excited to see what the band does next as they keep releasing album after album of pure gold, each with a new and unique twist on their sound. The band’s genre is difficult to pin-down as they have such an eclectic range of tracks. Luckily, Wikipedia saves the day once again and confirms they are the best psychedelic-progressive-garage-alternative-rock band there is.
After leaving the show with non-existent voices from shouting along to the lyrics, we journeyed off into the night as changed yet better men than we had been two hours earlier. I will definitely be back to see these guys again and I would highly recommend catching a show when you can!