LIVE REVIEW: Saint Agnes @ The Bodega, Nottingham

January, as we all know, is the longest six months of the year, so to have a lot of tours happening at this time is a lovely way to break up the mundanity and the gloom and the longer-than-average stretch between pay days. SAINT AGNES are doing just that, beginning the year with a fairly extensive tour of England and Scotland in support of latest album Bloodsuckers. There’s a fair amount of buzz for the quartet from London, who despite their career reaching its tenth year only really began making waves following their Main Stage appearance at the Download Pilot in 2021, but that was enough to see them secure support slots with both SKINDRED and MONSTER MAGNET. Tonight, they’re in the smaller surroundings of The Bodega in Nottingham, their fourth date of the run and a place they haven’t visited in well over three years.

Taking to the stage just fifteen minutes after doors is HEX POSEUR, ably supported at present by drummer Jacob Wakeling and bassists Holly Osborne. Lashings of grunge and punk rock are in her own take on heavy music, which opens rather unsettlingly with Skin, the first track off debut LP Stunning and the sinister opening line of “I want to consume your whole being!”. Showcasing tracks from not just Stunning but both the Hearsay and Keep It Quiet (Vol 1) EPs, there’s a lot of potential here with plenty of anger and rage in the songs, but plenty of bands have done similar things and had a greater impact. A little more delivery in the vocals and a more aggressive stage presence would benefit and turn the decent appreciation for the songs into a great one.

Rating: 6/10

One could argue that the limited stage space at The Bodega is a factor in limited movement from bands, but CRASHFACE buck that trend from the off. The London duo – vocalist Charlie Hinton and bassist Otto Balfour – are ably backed up by a touring guitarist and drummer for this run and are making the best use of what they can in front of them. Rattling through songs like Loading Screen Infinity and Ultraplasticplanetkiller at a rate of knots, they seem quite rough at the beginning but really grow into their set and new song, the nu-metal tinged C.H.A.I.N.S.A.W is going to become a cornerstone of their live show for years to come. Once they’ve learned how to maintain the momentum they have by the end of their set throughout the time they have onstage, they’ll be even more of a force to be reckoned with, but they’re young and that will come in time.

Rating: 7/10

SAINT AGNES have certainly been taking notes from the bands they have opened for over the last couple of years – their intro tape is the perfect length, building anticipation for their show and yet kicking into the title track from Bloodsuckers just when you feel that it might have been going on bit too long. There’s plenty of energy to see from the band and, full credit to Kitty A. Austen here, she’s confident enough to ask for a wall of death in a sizeable, but not sold out room and gets one too. When everything is going to according to plan, SAINT AGNES are a poison-tipped dart, striking a chord with everyone in the room and bringing them over to the dark side, whether it’s through the vampiric vibes in Daughter Of Lucifer or the umpteen pairs of hands flipping the bird during Middle Finger. Most potent is This Is Not The End, a song penned by Kitty about her mother’s passing and is both a sombre and celebratory moment, as she steps from the stage to sing it among the punters.

But whilst there are highs, there are also moments that, quite bluntly, are mid to low. The vocals are often muddy, something that didn’t affect the supports at all, which must go down as an issue the band need to address as opposed to any issues or limitations with the venue. For a band who now have two full albums and a couple of EPs under their belt, the decision to play for just 45 minutes as a headline set could be seen as a bit of a short-change, given the material that is to hand.

Having said that, perhaps the most notable element of SAINT AGNES is that the strength of their music is fairly inconsistent. Yes, every track gets a big crowd response and that pulls them through tonight, but whilst at times they look like they could take on the world – Bloodsuckers, This Is Not The End etc – at others, like Vampire and Repent, they fade into middle-of-the-road territory, another alternative rock band in a scene fast becoming oversaturated. SAINT AGNES have their place and that will keep them going for as long as they want, but whether they reach the heights of others will entirely depend on a break that, right now, doesn’t look likely.

Rating: 7/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Nottingham from Kendall Giles-Davidson here:

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