Live Review: Saint Agnes (Leeds Brudenell Social Club, 19/11/21)

 

"How come it's not busier?" asks my mate a few minutes before Saint Agnes are due onstage.

"Well, considering it's a Tuesday night, it's probably the biggest Leeds venue they've played and they're a band who haven't really played up this way much before, I don't think this is too bad." I reply looking around the Brudenell which is about half full. Certainly I've seen more established bands pull smaller crowds than this here.

"Yeah but...I mean, we've both heard their music mate, they should be huge, right?" he answers.

I have to hand it to the guy, he's not wrong. In a just world, Saint Agnes would be huge. As it is, they're continuing to make good progress in recent years with even the likes of Kerrang! and the Metro newspaper devoting column inches to them in the last year or two, not bad for a band who your correspondent remembers playing the packed back room of the tiny Lock Tavern in Camden on one of his first encounters with them seven or eight years ago and fully deserved given their ferocious work ethic.

They've come on a long way since then of course and it says a lot about the quality of their recent EP's that tonight they feel comfortable leaving several of the stronger numbers from their sole full album to date, 2019's excellent Welcome To Silvertown out of the set like Death Or Glory Gang, I Feel Dangerous Around You and Diablo Take Me Home.

From the off tonight as they kick in with the rolling Daughter of Lucifer, this is a band bristling with a combative energy and songs like Vampire, The World Ain't Big Enough and brutal new single Uppercut show that when it comes to sheer controlled chaos, there's few can match this band while old favourites like Welcome To Silvertown and The Witching Hour already sound like cornerstones of the set, mixing a fierce energy with an ice cool menace.

"We don't do encores" explains singer Kitty as the group prepare to finish with a storming run through former single Brother, "We prefer to leave everything out here on the stage." It's a fitting summary of tonight's gig as we all stagger off homewards into the cold night. If Saint Agnes keep pushing ahead the way they're going, I see no reason why next time they're at the Brudenell they shouldn't be able to get a few more punters in. The rise of the daughters of Lucifer continues apace it would seem.

All pictures by Andy James Close. All rights reserved.

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