Daughters @ Art School, Glasgow (18th April 2019)

with JESSICA93

Words: Ray Mondo

Having heard much about the band Daughters in recent times, this gig had came to my attention - admittedly having previously only heard a few tracks from them, I was still quite interested to see what all the excitement was about. Fortunately I can say that any such excitement around the band was very much justified with a performance such as this one that I was lucky enough to attend. The gig itself was continuously sold out after being upgraded to a more capacity-accommodating venue three times.

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The first act of the evening was JESSICA93, a one-man band project led by Parisian musician Geoff Laporte. Having written all the instrumentation himself on previously released recordings (and occasionally playing the material live with a full band lineup), Laporte primarily takes the helm when performing live, covering vocals, guitar and bass all while triggering drum parts in between. Only one song in and already audience members were watching with interest as Laporte elaborately layered either guitar or bass parts with the aid of loop effects before switching effortlessly back to the next instrument. 

Sludgy, doom-laden riffs were backed up with threateningly fuzzy bass lines and pounding drums, showcasing Laporte's wide array of influences. From the Eastern-sounding 'Asylum' to the foot-stompingly aggressive angst of 'Surmatants', all of this sounded quite reminiscent of 90s shoe-gazing and early grunge, while carrying over some slightly electronic-inspired aspects here and there. Pulling in quite the crowd, JESSICA93 put on an excellent set and will no doubt have some new fans after this performance.

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Next up were headliner act of the evening: Daughters. Coming all the way from from Rhode Island, U.S, the noise rockers are currently on their UK tour in support of You Won't Get What You Want, their first album since 2010's self-titled release. With a reunited line-up of vocalist Alexis Marshall, guitarist Nicholas Sadler, bassist Samuel Walker and drummer John Syverson, they were joined by additional guitarist Gary Potter and keyboardist Lisa Mungo for this particular tour. 

The band made their way on stage to a room full of cheers and applause from excited fans, however as they ferociously opened the set with the surprising choice of in-your-face rocker 'The Reason They Hate Me', all does not appear to be well with Marshall who seems somewhat unenthusiastic about the performance. Frequently slamming the microphone off of the stage floor, monitors and even himself both during and between songs, something seemed to be irritating the vocalist. Perhaps it was the sound he was hearing from his perspective, exhaustion from the recent touring or something else. Whatever the case, it was definitely a mystery as the rest of the band seemed quite unfazed, ripping through each song in the set like no tomorrow.

A highlight of seeing this band live would definitely be getting to watch guitarist Sadler strum skilfully away at the speed of light like his life depends on it, yet never so much as breaking a sweat while making all sorts of unconventional yet interesting sounds. This could be heard on songs such as the nightmarish stomper 'Long Road, No Turns', the relentlessly devastating 'The Virgin' and frantic set closer 'Ocean Song', all the while highlighting the wide palate Daughters bring to the table when it comes to songwriting.

Whatever was getting to Marshall did however add a further memorable element to the performance - the tension in the room could almost be literally cut with a knife as the vocalist skulked unpredictably about the stage, occasionally sending an long, icy glare into the audience. "You deserve better than this", he sighed into the microphone near the end of the set, with unfortunately no encore to be had. All possible issues aside, this was more than likely just an off night for the vocalist, as the band were in fine form and still put on an excellent show. The displayed level of musicianship combined with the intense physicality of the music itself definitely makes Daughters one of the must-see live bands in this current era of music.

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Thanks to Ray for this review and thanks to you for reading. Please leave a comment, give us a like/follow on our socials and get in touch if you want to contribute to RWEI. Cheers!