Introducing: The Murder Capital

This weekend is every British new music fan’s dream festival: Brighton’s Great Escape. With over 450 artists playing over 3 days, most of them being relatively new and from all over the globe, it’s an amazing festival of discovery. I’ve been attending since its very early days, when gigs really only happened in the evening, to see it grow into the bustling and enormous event it has become now. It’s an immediate must do in my diary every year.

Normally around this time I’d write a number of posts giving my tips, musical and otherwise, for the festival, but time has been against me. So instead I’ll just rattle of a small handful of names that I’m most excited to see, some not for the first time: 404, Squid, Amahla, Another Sky, Plastic Mermaids, Celeste, L Devine, Chai and one more band that I’m featuring in full on the blog today. 

That band are The Murder Capital and they hail from Ireland. Loaded up with post-punk intensity they currently have just 2 songs on line to stream. 

Having first caught the attention on the strength a You Tube live recording of a song called More Or Less that packed a hard weighty punch as well as word of mouth from those who attended early gigs, The Murder Capital built a fierce reputation before they even released a single. 

The first track they put out officially to stream in January was the The Fontaines DC-ish Feeling Fades, the second in April was the claustrophobic and brilliantly murky sounding Green & Blue which has hints of early U2, Joy Division and The Cure to it. Both are superb but particularly this second song. It might be called Green & Blue but it’s real colour is midnight black. 

“With their wings flung the choir sung their final song today, as the doors appear to clear the space in which she lay, she’ll collapse she’ll collapse as the amber sisters softly say,” it starts, hinting at an end, a death. This theme is continued through to the powerful video which finds the characters portrayed dealing with what appears to be grief and the loss of someone loved. The audio and visual combined make a poignant and powerful piece of work.

Having already supported the likes of Idles, Fontaines DC and Slaves, The Murder Capital seem well positioned to take things to the next level. The Great Escape might be your last opportunity to see them in a really small venue like The Prince Albert. Go see them if you get the chance.

The Murder Capital - Green & Blue