In the process of getting out to this gig, venturing out on a wet Thursday night, your writer wrenches his ankle, and as a result, spends the next 20 minutes hobbling to the Pavilion, just in time to miss most of debuting Cork/Italian lads The Order of the Mess‘ power-duo noise-rock assault. Their stuff on Soundcloud paints a rough but promising picture, that of a multifaceted, but bludgeoningly weighty aural attack. They’re well-received here.
Settling in for Hope is Noise getting on with setup, it’s a decent crowd that litters the bar of the Pav, especially right before a Bank Holiday. The lads are in no-nonsense, heads-down form tonight, making with a set of mostly new material, in preparation for recording sometime in the near future. Following on from the relatively straightforward post-punk/noise direction of previous E.P. This Used to be a Laugh, there’s a definite split in the new material: some of it is dense, layered, and thickly spread with sarcasm and regret, like ‘In Case You Fuck Up’, or in particular set-opener ‘Born-Again Friend’; while a goodly part of it is a whole lot more raw and urgent, such as the spiky outburst of ‘Psychobitch’. There are staples of the well-loved four-piece’s discography thrown in, as ‘Official Party Line’ is dedicated to the local candidates in the May elections in a not-so-fond fashion, and both ‘Peace and Quiet’ and set-closer ‘No Stretchmarks’ from 2010’s Under Friendly Fire make welcome appearances.
It’s a prescient look at new stuff from a band that is the cornerstone of the Cork scene, taking technical problems in stride with the wry grin of old vets, but laying into it with the same fervor (albeit with a bit more focus) as ever. Words: Mike McGrath-Bryan, Photos: Rory Coomey
