It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, we’re not talking about Christmas (though we definitely used that line then, too) – it’s The Great Escape season, after three years away. As news of the final schedules for three days of new music scavaging land, it falls to your trusty friends at Dork to bring an official warm-up to London’s legendary 100 Club in style.
Already achieving potential indie superstar status, L’objectif‘s first-on set is a revelation. Even bolder and brighter on the live stage and with a surefire confidence to their every move, they wrap The 100 Club in a warm glow. In intimate settings, the likes of ‘Same Thing’, ‘Do It Again’ and ‘Drive In Mind’ are emphatic, commanding the stage in a manner that recalls festival headliners (Arctic Monkeys) and long-held favourites (Fontaines D.C., Blaenavon) alike. Frontman Saul Kane truly comes into his own, leading his comrades to no-nonsense heights. If this band don’t have diehard devotion and moshpits at every stage they come to in the next 12 months, we’ve all failed. L’objectif are the real deal.
In their first live set since November – and first with a brand new drummer – Malady are the talk of the town. Effortlessly blending rave and pop at one moment, then crushing indie and punk at the next, it’s a jaw-dropping display of a band that stand apart from the rest. ‘Famous Last Words’ and ‘Round The Bend’ may have arrived at different stages of a mixed-up world over the past few years, but there’s a line that holds it together. Finding the rapturous moments of release in every detail, they build an all-encompassing world of sound that spins The 100 Club into their personal dance floor. Reminding everyone just how special they are, the rings of ‘London I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down’ say it all. Malady are thriving as one of the coolest bands going right now, and they’re just getting started.
To close out a night like tonight can take a lot. Thankfully, Opus Kink are a band born to soundtrack parties. They begin their set like a match lighting a fuse. Part Orville Peck yeehaw, part Fat White Family mayhem, always at the peril of derailing but somehow still in control – the adrenaline rush that comes from both situations is addictive. Their kick-pedal breaks off at one point, and the band are left in limbo. A quickly raised hand from L’objectif sorts the issue out in no time – a perfect distillation not only of Opus Kink’s closing set, but the night’s communal spirit.
It’s electric. It’s crackers. It’s hard to believe at times. Opus Kink come to define a night made up of three incredible bands leading the way in their own unique voices. Add an iconic venue and a festival spotlighting must-see bands, and that’s a Dork’s Night Out in a nutshell. You’d be a fool not to take our word on it.
