Having been postponed from March 2022 due to ongoing COVID concerns, Danish post-punk heartthrobs finally make it back to Glasgow for a packed show at Broadcast, their first in the city since 2018.

Absurdly-named Glasgow hardcore act Moni Jitchell kicked off the evening, providing the only support. Despite comprising just two members, vocalist Grant Donaldson and guitarist David Scott threaten to level the venue with volume. An insistent backing track of pre-recorded drums & bass, crackling electronics and the occasional distorted sample thicken the sound to almost unbearable levels, a raging baseline for the raw vocals and violent riffs as the band alternately speed and stalk through tracks from their debut EP ‘Clear’ and upcoming 12” ‘Unreal’.

While many of the songs are minute-or-so breakneck hardcore bangers, when they slow down, cuts like Sell Selfish and set highlight Waves veer into expansive, with Donaldson’s melodic vocals melding with Scott’s unusual 12-string guitar textures. They close their set with the furious (and incredibly titled) ‘Moni Jitchell Live at Hellfest’: Donaldson evoking TV classic LOST’s John Locke with an impassioned and definitely tongue-in-cheek refrain of ‘DON’T TELL ME WHAT I CAN’T DO’ – a fitting statement of intent for this inherently odd, exciting band.

Iceage’s frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt appears onstage wearing a very nice cardigan, and the audience immediately swoons. Perhaps the only band to have ever gotten away with ripping off Oasis and still sounding cool as fuck (as on 2021’s Seek Shelter), Iceage’s trajectory has been unusual. Their first two records were early Bad Seeds by way of English post-punk, but there was a definite shift with 2014’s Plowing Into the Field of Love into something more refined and big-room-ready.

Broadcast’s stage is strange, narrow and deep – Rønnenfelt front-and-centre, but the rest of the band stand nestled far into the venue’s alcove, giving the unfair impression that it’s the Elias show.

He is a captivating presence, his charismatically off-key drawl giving huge presence to the set (mostly comprised of cuts from Plowing…, 2018’s Beyondless and Seek Shelter) but the rest of the band are capable and poised, especially on ragers like Painkiller (the absence of recorded collaborator Sky Ferreira barely noticeable) massive singalong Shelter Song and early hit The Lord’s Favorite.

There are possible signs that their obsession with Madchester is getting a little out of hand, as two of the three new songs played tonight almost sound like Smiths covers, and the third could be a Joy Division b-side.

But the crowd are enraptured and rightfully so – the band is tight, the performance on the right line between joyous and painfully cool. It feels as though the band remains perched right on the edge of superstardom – hopefully their next visit to Glasgow is on a bigger stage.

Words 📝 Sean Patrick Campbell

Shot by 📸 Sean Patrick Campbell