All the way from Australia, punk duo Mannequin Death Squad rock the London venue as they wind up their UK tour.
A midweek gig at the relatively out-of-the-way Shacklewell Arms pub is hardly the stuff of dreams, but those who venture out tonight are in for quite the treat.
Test Plan thrill the early arrivals with some raucous, abrasive post-punk, whilst Play Dead get a few people bouncing around with their gloriously ramshackle blasts of punk rock, but ultimately we’re here for a band who may not remain a best-kept secret for much longer.
Mannequin Death Squad. Two friends, Ellie and Dan, from Australia. They both sing and they take turns on guitar and drums. They play unapologetically in your face punk rock, and the past few years of touring have only seen them get ever tighter and more exhilarating live. Reports of their set at this year’s Rebellion Festival have been impressive, so they’re clearly on a roll.
From the moment they take the stage and rip into the grunge-flavoured ‘San Fran’, they sound absolutely massive, and they then make the ballsy move of dropping two of their biggest anthems – the newly-released ‘Monsters’ and ‘Seventeen’ so early in the set. The former boasts a spidery riff and a chorus refrain (“I won’t forget, I won’t forget it!”) that WILL stick in your head – and trust us, you’ll be grateful for it.
They’re clearly fuelled by fury, but also possess a wonderfully dark sense of humour. “This song’s about cutting off your ears, because sometimes earplugs just aren’t enough!” (That’s Dan, introducing ‘Van Gogh’). The duo swap places halfway through the set, but the sheer relentlessness doesn’t lessen any, with the venue getting increasingly sweaty as the likes of ‘Addicted To You’ and ‘Super Mental Psycho’ drench us in a tide of fuzzed-up guitars and Duracell-bunny drum action.
It’s a triumph, but you kind of wish for more for MDS. Such raw, propulsive punk deserves a completely packed-out room going crazy, and the night ending in a booze soaked. tangled mess of limbs, cables, and riffs. Oh well – if they continue to turn in sets this good, then maybe nights like those aren’t so far away.
‘Monsters‘ is the most recent release from Mannequin Death Squad- make sure you check it out HERE.
Follow Mannequin Death Squad on Their Socials
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Live report: Dutch riot grrrl band Clitteband win music contest!
The 035 Popprijs competition final took place on 28th February at the Vorstin venue, Hilversum, featuring four bands; Clitteband, Crashing, Lisa Rose, and bloc bloc
Local South Essex young bands will really be at the heart of Undercover Festival 2025!
As the popular Undercover Festival (now in its 13th year) makes its debut at Battlesbridge, South Essex on 26th & 27th September, promoter and organiser
Six of the Best – 26th February 2025
Single, EP and Album releases from The Pighounds – Tutti Frutti’, State Power – ‘Final Hour’, Launch Control – ‘Hedge Fundamentalism’, Killing Daisies – ‘Echoes
Live review: TV Smith raises the Face Bar roof in Reading!
Punk legend TV Smith may just be one man with an acoustic guitar, but the founder of The Adverts can still fill a room with
EP review: ‘¡No Pasarán!’ by Dutch punks Mouser
Mouser, four veteran punks, release new songs on the fascist threat, mobile phones, refugees and forced labour in prisons in their debut EP ‘¡No Pasarán!’.
Album review: Black Spiders – ‘Cvrses’
Isn’t rock n’ roll supposed to be a young person’s game? Then how come so many of the old guard are doing such a great
I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
