WORDS AND IMAGES JAMES WOOLLEN
The purpose of this review is to highlight the vibrant underground music scene in the city of Sheffield. Sheffield has a proud history of raising small bands who go on to do great things, such as, Bring Me the Horizon, The Human League, Vision, The Funky Worm, ABC and Cabaret Voltaire to mention just a few. The best known are of course the Arctic Monkeys and Def Leppard.
Matilda Shakes are an anthemic Indi rock band based in Sheffield UK, formed in 2019. the band’s sound centres around punching drive guitars, raucous riffs, pounding drums and mega sing-along choruses that get the crowd moving and entertained. their latest release entitled ‘Fast Lane’ featured on official F1 tracks, and best of British playlist.
The band have played sold-out shows in their hometown, and beyond. with main stage slots at the legendary Leadmill, and the O2 Academy. I caught up with the band at another full-to-capacity show at Sheffield’s Sidney and Matilda.
The crowds gathered early eagerly awaiting what would turn out to be a great evening’s of live music. the vibe was one of excitement, and happiness, as the music fans slowly began to fill the venue’s downstairs room, eagerly awaiting the night to begin,
First up were The levitation, a very young band also from Sheffield, they are still teenagers they played a nice set. ‘She Lives In The Space Of My Mind’ is a standout song of theirs with a great guitar riff very 1960s garage sounding.
Next up was Marples who rocked the room. Marples are another exciting, young upcoming band from Sheffield, formed in September 2021. The band is made up of four members: Joseph Neville (lead vocals and rhythm guitarist), Thomas Martin (lead guitarist), Joe Kneale (bass guitarist) and Luke Fieldsend (drums). The band released their EP ‘In The Attic’ which was released in March 2022. A stand-out song by the band is ‘One For Their Own’ A very melodic song that sounds amazing live with that distinguished Sheffield Indi sound.
The main support act for the night were Marseille who played a quality set of Indi bangers. stand-out tunes were ‘Freedom’ a heavy noise riff-orientated song, with a hint of shoegaze reminiscent of the 1990s scene. Another standout song was ‘Forget It All’ a song that reminded me of The laa’s with its dreamy feel and melody. Marseille sounded very impressive and i think maybe destined for a lot bigger things.
As i looked around the room at 9.30 pm it was was full of music fans awaiting the main act, it was hot, sweaty, and loud with people cheering, singing and having a great time. Matilda Shakes blasted their way through an 11-song set. stand out songs were ‘Up All Night’ very catchy with a 1970s rock vibe, with James Hallam lead vocalist/guitar in fine tone. And Kyle Sales lead guitar sounding oh so sweet.
‘Fast Lane’ is a great rock and roll song, with a nice oooohhhhhh ohhhh that the crowd love to sing along with, and some great guitar work and the drummer Charlie lee was having the time of his life, he was standing in for full time drummer Josh Clark who had broken his finger. it was nice to see Clark appear on stage to sing along later in the show. ‘Shake Down’ is another great song, a nice bluesy number with Mat Webster’s bass sounding awesome, and again, Sales, and Hallam crank up the guitar work building to a fine crescendo that the crowd love and dances to.
Matilda Shakes use the stage well they like to have a dance around, swinging their guitars, with crazy drumming. Hallam as lead vocalist makes a great frontman, interacting nicely with their fans, encouraging sing-along, and dancing. overall, the evening was a great success and long may this continue.
On a final note, I am not surprised that Matilda Shakes are making a name for themselves, they make great Rock and Roll music, that has appeal, is fun, rememberable and appeals to a wide age range. I would recommend the band to all music lovers, and those who love great live music. I would like to see the band achieve greater success in the future. And maybe add their names to the list of Sheffield greats.
SET LIST
1/ UP ALL NIGHT
2/ FIARGROUND
3/ PONY
4/ NEON HAZE
5/ CLOSE
6/ RIDING THE LIGHTNING
7/ STUNTMAN
8/ FEVER DREAM
9/ FAST LANE
10/ SEVEN NATION ARMY (THE WHITE STRIPES)
11/ SHAKEDOWN
12/ TIME
https://youtu.be/3rktsmFR4XM
FOLLOW MATILDA SHAKES
FOLLOW MARSEILLE
FOLLOW MARPLES
FOLLOW THE LEVITATION
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
