Skating Polly, Broadcast, Glasgow
- Written by Ashley Stein
As local punk band Bratakus take to the stage, the almost pitch black basement venue that is Broadcast is finally light up with reddish pink stage lights and the glow of the daylight streaming in from the upstairs window. It’s a small crowd to start off with but as they race through their set at Ramones style speed more onlookers descend from the staircase. An interesting mix of guitar, bass and a recorded backing track to fill in for the drums, Bratakus are loud, fast and all together brilliant. Their songs range from the Riot Grrrl tinged 'Cyber Queen' to the thrashing 'I Know Nothing'. Their cover of ‘Where is My Mind’ is especially well received and lays out a neat path for their last song, 'Mind’s Eye', to finish the set.
As we patiently wait for the next band, Breakfast Muff, to take their places, we learn that they have had to pull out at the last minute and will be replaced with pop trio, Joyce Delaney. Not that we wish ill health upon anybody, but Breakfast Muff’s loss was certainly our gain; Joyce Delaney were incredible. With Rob on drums, Chrissy on guitar, Nyla on probably the most beautiful bass ever to exist and both girls on vocals, their brand of “bubblegum punk pop” is catchy and super tight with some seriously relevant song content. With song titles like 'Ding Ding, Don’t Be An Asshole' and 'Do I Even Like People', they explore the subjects of sexuality and body confidence among others. Coupled with the hard hitting, straight up advice spilling from Chrissy between songs, Joyce Delaney’s set was inspiring, hilarious and just pretty god damn fun. If you ever wanted (more) proof that the future is definitely female, here it is.
The room finally seems to have filled up as we all wait excitedly for Kelli and Peyton to let us in to their mysterious world of poetic lyrics and '90s style punk rock vibes. With four albums behind them and maybe a hundred songs to choose from, their energetic set provided an insight in to all the stages of the 6 year career as musicians. Playing 'Ugly' early on is a great start to the show and as Peyton drums the hell out it before swiftly moving on to guitar, which Kelli just shreds, for the beautiful 'Nothing More Than A Body' you are reminded of how deeply talented they both are.
They both remain in place as they begin 'Oddie Moore', one of the bigger tunes from their latest album, The Big Fit. Peyton’s voice is so wonderful on this track especially; her range creates an amazing layer of emotions behind the music, she is at once vulnerable and strong, despaired yet valiant in her intentions. There is something incredibly magical about their songwriting, even more so when it is delivered live as they both seem to really live the situations as they play out the songs.
As they take us through more brilliant tracks like 'Stop Digging', 'Pretektive Boy' and the super creepy 'Hey Sweet', everyone in the crowd is bouncing. It’s so great to see such a receptive audience full of young people who are excited about music and a band that knows how to cater to its fans and as the show comes to a close Kelli sings in to the crowd, owning every part of that adoration.