Radio Free Alice // Scala, London
Post-punk perfection rocks London
★★★★★ (5/5)
Australian rising stars Radio Free Alice represent the best of post-punk, but tinged with a modern sheen. This Thursday, a sold-out performance at Scala in London marked the end of four months of relentless touring during which the band have played to vast festival crowds and sold-out headline shows.
This year the Australian quintet (fronted by Noah Learmonth - vocals & guitar alongside Jules Paradiso - guitar, Michael Phillips - bass & saxophone and Lochie Dowd - drums ) relocated to the bustle of London from their hometown of Sydney. The band has played countless sold-out shows as fans across the world embraced their distinctive blend of bittersweet riffs and melodic choruses.
Everything about the band feels vibrant. From the pace of their releases to their hotly attended live shows, this has only grown. This momentum meant that the atmosphere in the venue was electric from the second the doors opened, as fans eagerly awaited their chance to catch a glimpse of a band on the cusp of bigger things.
Warming up the crowd was fellow Australian band Sex Mask. Tearing through a set reminiscent of a cross between New Order and Idles, they paired braying vocal delivery with discordant guitars, melodic bass lines and drum-shattering percussion. Celebrating the release of their new EP “Body Broker” they brought on Noah Learmonth from Radio Free Alice to perform the captivating track “Blisters”.
Having been thoroughly primed for a night of exceptional music, there was a palpable excitement that ignited the second Radio Free Alice took to the stage. From the opening notes of “Empty Words”, it was clear that the vertigo-inducing steps of the venue did little to tire out the fans, as they became a writhing sea of revelry.
Sonically, Scala served as the perfect venue for the band to deliver their angst-ridden anthems. Allowing the songs to feel vast as they wove together various sonic textures, while also retaining their electricity from the crowd's proximity.
The night's setlist journeyed through the band's collection of releases. Tracks from their recent EP “Empty Words” were greeted with roars of enthusiasm, showing the strength of the catalogue that the band are rapidly creating. Similarly, songs from their self-titled and “Johnny” eps took the audience through moments of haunting introspection and fist-pumping euphoria.
On stage, the band kept it minimal with crowd interaction and stage design, which accentuated their moodily cool aesthetic. With stage lights bathing the venue in deep reds and murky blues.
As the band progressed through their set, there was a shared sense of delight that manifested in the fans as they danced, crowd surfed and sang along to such razor-sharp tracks as “Toyota Camry” and “Spain”. Bedlam ensued through the band’s more raucous tracks, with “Paris is Gone” and “Look What You’ve Done” seeing limbs thrown in all directions.
A highlight of the set came from the live debut of the new song “Rule 31”, which was rabidly received, especially striking considering it had only been released the previous evening. Acting as a mission statement for the band, the track embodied much of the sonic DNA that makes up Radio Free Alice: melodic post-punk bass lines, angular guitar riffs and emotive vocal delivery all coalescing into a soaring chorus.
The busy months of touring have helped the band bloom on stage, commanding the audience with tightly honed stage craft. This speaks to their bright future as they progress, no doubt, to increasingly mammoth stages.
Closing the set was “Wasted Space”, an anthem to those despondent with feeling lost in life. Lyrically the song sees the band at their most poetic. Channelling The Smiths, but through a stack of amplifiers. The refrain of “I try so hard, I always do” felt like a shared catharsis in the audience and a moment of triumph for the band.
As the band left the stage, immediate shouts of “One more song” heralded their return. Excitement reached critical mass just as the five band members emerged for a spirited cover of Gang of Four's track “Damaged Goods”.
Throughout the night, the band’s ability to balance sharp-edged post-punk with moments of melodic beauty shows that they’re poised to break beyond cult status into wider recognition. With festival appearances already lined up for next year, Radio Free Alice is just getting started as they continue to build unstoppable momentum.
Review By: Sam McNaughton
