The Rare Blood Group seem much tighter than the last time I saw them, earlier this year. 'Scream For Mercy' has a proper Wigan Casino feel. 'Breaking Away' is yet more uptempo Northern Soul with great backing vocals. Atko's voice is great throughout too. Elsewhere, they mine the early 70s commercial rock of Steely Dan. They aren't mere copyists though as they add a lot of their own character into the mix.
There is chaos from the moment from the moment High Vis step on stage. There are bodies flying everywhere as everyone wants to scream along to the melodic hardcore of '0151'. 'Walking Wires' has some neat New FADS style guitars but Graham's vocals firmly root it in punk. 'Talk For Hours' is intense for such an anthemic song. 'Altitude ' is pure mayhem, and I end up pretty dazed as a stagediver lands squarely on my head. The downside of taking notes down the front is it makes it difficult to protect yourself from bodies from above. 'Fever Dream' is punked up baggy bliss, whilst 'Blending' comes on like a hardcore Northside and is excellent. The recorded output is great but it is in the live setting where High Vis excel, as everything has much more energy. 'Trauma Bonds' is everything. Joyous, traumatic, cathartic and emotional. 'Choose To Lose' is amazing and ends the set in an energetic fashion with stagedivers everywhere.
High Vis *****
The Rate Blood Group ****
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