LIVE REVIEW: Flatspot World Night One – Scowl @ The Dome, London

The inaugural UK edition of Flatspot World rolls into town along with some truly crap weather, but that’s not about to dampen spirits for night one of the year’s most exciting hardcore lineup. 

STIFF MEDS have a growing reputation in the UK scene and they’re on fine form. It’s the sound of bar brawls as punk songs, barrelling through frantic drumming and two-step parts from the very outset. Crust elements break the surface from time to time as do blast beats, and the crowd never truly stops moving even when it’s just a few people hurling themselves round the pit. The quartet rip through a short set overflowing with swaggering attitude and riotous anger, any calls for moshing returned almost before they finish asking. It’s a fine way to kick off the night and a blistering example of the UK’s fertile hardcore scene. 

Rating: 8/10

Taking to the stage next are JIVEBOMB, who live up to their name very swiftly for their London debut. Singer Kat Madeira doesn’t stand still for more than a few seconds, bounding round the stage as the band dole out riffs that sit between modern hardcore and burly crossover thrash. Their songs are short, sharp shocks that hit like trucks, or bombs if you prefer, and by the time each one registers it’s onto the next Molotov hurled from the stage. Admitting they almost didn’t make it thanks to a van breakdown, they vent all their frustrations through their set and the crowd responds by moving relentlessly, from swinging limbs to two-steps and more. “Where the moshers at?” Madeira grins knowingly before Jivebomb goes off, its swaggering breakdown inviting chaos aplenty. Before you know it it’s over, and they’ve left one hell of an impression. 

Rating: 9/10 

CHUBBY AND THE GANG – aka London punk Charlie Manning and his Gang – is brand new to the label roster, but he brings plenty of experience in the UK’s punk scene, with a growing reputation and two albums under his belt already. Tonight he brings that rollicking punk energy to bear with aplomb; “‘Ello, we’re CHUBBY AND THE GANG” he grins before delivering a flurry of breakneck anthems. Straddling the line between rock ‘n’ roll and old-school oi, the energy levels are sky high and there’s a sense of the cart being about to come off the tracks at any moment but it never does. The crowd is, as ever, well up for it with plenty of pits and movement to their throwback punk. Manning has an easy confidence to him that oozes charm, that classic frontman energy and it works wonders for them with quips between songs that keep the crowd in his palm. The future is exciting indeed for him and the Gang. 

Rating: 8/10

SCOWL have been the hottest thing in hardcore ever since their raucous debut How Flowers Grow dropped in 2021, and have consistently not only lived up to but exceeded the hype with incendiary live shows and constantly evolving musically with last year’s stunning Psychic Dance Routine. Kat Moss continues to cement their status as one of the best frontpeople in hardcore, a whirlwind of energy and a captivating presence as she moshes, dances and snarls through their raucous set. From opener Retail Hell the room is more than ready to bring chaos, as the pit stays constantly moving for the entire set.

They follow it with a furious Shot Down and Pretty Selfish Cretin before showing their huge range with the grungy Psychic Dance Routine that gets the room singing along. Down to a quartet tonight, they don’t show any cracks as they instead deliver a masterclass in hardcore and pushing sonic boundaries without ever losing your identity, with a destructive Bloodhound on the same setlist as Fuck Around or stunning closer Opening Night, whereas in the former the first stage divers of the night appear. From their first-ever UK headline show in 2022 at London’s tiny Shacklewell Arms to tonight’s packed-out Dome show, SCOWL are only getting bigger, better, and more essential to modern hardcore. 

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the action from night one of Flatspot World from Sarah Tsang here: 

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