Primals and HOTS live

Vintage Rockers versus Young Turks

07 April 06 - It was a case of the young Turks versus the vintage rockers last night as Hope Of The States played London's Water Rats while across town Primal Scream headlined the Astoria.

Both bands were premiering new albums: Primal Scream came on stage and blasted into new single Country Girl, out on 22 May.

The sound was great and the song was too. The band played enough off the new album to justify it as a 'promotional' gig, but with classics from the back catalogue to keep the hardcore fans  - including Noel Gallagher and the Chemical Brothers - happy prompting a mass sing-along to their 1994 top ten hit Rocks.

The band felt really together and rockier, and less reliant on samplers and technology. 

Meanwhile at the Water Rats, Hope Of The States were showcasing forthcoming album Left. They looked like they might have trouble fitting the six members of the band on the tiny stage but when they added a brass section at the end it was a tight squeeze. The band were pretty intense and played very, very hard from the opening track Bonfires they were on the money, their lush layered sound perfectly enhancing their politicised polemics ... the new songs have a lot of confidence and epic Morricone style film score sweeps.

Frontman Sam Herlihy told 6 Music in February that the new album sounds like 'Joy Division gone disco', and you could see what he meant after hearing the new material tonight. He kept encouraging the crowd to make a bit more noise but it wasn't like they weren't showing their appreciation there was lots of cheering and clapping after each song, but they did seem to be concentrating very hard on listening ... not much chatter at the back. Highlights of the set: Forward Direction, This Is A Question and Blood Meridian as well as old favourites Black Dollar Bills and Nehemiah.

Hope Of The States set list:
Bonfires
Industry
The Red the White
The Good Fight
Blood Meridian
Enemies Friends
Black Dollar Bills
Sing It Out
George Washington
This Is a Question
Nehemiah
Forward Direction
Church Choir
A Horse 
Black Stars Red Stars

Hope Of The States play Kings College on Monday 24 April their second album Left is out at the beginning of June.

Primal Scream set list:
Country Girl
Dolls
Jailbird
Shoot Speed Kill Light
Detroit
Nitty Gritty
Suicide Sally
Kill All Hippies
When The Bomb Drops
The 99th Floor
Medication
Rocks
Kowalski
Swastika Eyes
Moving On Up
Slip Inside This House
Accelerator
Skull X
Gimme Some Truth
Country Girl
Rocks


Julie Cullen