There was anything but bad sounds at Brudenell when this indie-funk band from Bath took over the
Community Room on Wednesday night. Full of energy right from the start, if you weren’t there to
dance then why were you even there?

Fronted by brothers, Ewan and Callum Merrett, who came bouncing onto the stage, one in a
customised Bad Sounds boiler suit and the other with the intention to party it was always going to
be a fun night.

Opening with ‘Hot Head Chippenham’ off their new EP, Mixtape One, it was a perfect start to get the
fans moving and a perfect encapsulation of how the band manages to effortlessly combine hip-hop
with funk with indie-pop, something that shouldn’t work but somehow definitely does.

The brothers stated that this was only the second of their gigs that their Dad had been to and last
time nobody showed up. However, it was clear to see they had nothing to worry about this time
around as he could witness a huge crowd singing back all the words, even knowing the lyrics to ‘Are
You High?’ which was only released on the day of the gig.

Although losing the energy of the crowd when playing a couple of their slower songs like ‘I Feel’, that
admittedly felt like they were there as a requirement of the setlist rather than their desire to play
them, the five-piece band won everyone back in the end.

Closing the set with their biggest hit so far, ‘Wages’, the room saw endless crowd surfers and the
most enthusiastic tambourine playing I’ve ever seen from frontman Callum. It’s safe to say we all
came to party and indeed party we did.

 

Lucy Bradshaw