Pigeon’s Pocket – Leeds, England, United Kingdom
Pigeons. To ascertain why I love them so much would take me drastically off-topic, so that can wait. Pigeon’s Pocket and their Self-Titled EP, however, cannot. The Leeds four-piece in this here 2020, are one new to the game of meticulously pecking at pavements desperate for the decadent crumbs of capitalism. And by that, I obviously mean entering the underground Punk and Alternative music scene. What else would I be cooing about?
The band’s debut EP is a declaration of sound regarding a fluid and hybridised mix of Punk music expanding from said foundation. Pigeons Pockets straddle the gritty fury of OG Punk vocally and elsewhere. This is then merged with a double-down on itself toward and through early-Hardcore Punk and onward to ’90s Riot Grrrl, Alt. Rock and Grunge.
The band’s namesake track enters over a fuzzed variant of Hardcore-fuzzed Grunge not too dissimilar from the band’s Riot Grrrl influences. The band abrasively cut through this in a statement of solidarity with their winged-inspirations.’Pigeon’s Pocket’ entertains via Riot Grrrl-Grunge akin to the likes of early-Nirvana or Bikini Kill and holds it’s own well-enough. The tracks final cathartic blast of Hardcore Punk very much raises its esteem, however.
‘Bossman Says’ is the natural progression and catapults the band down the aforementioned Punk timeline. ‘Bossman Says’ is the stark reality of the dispensible attitude directed towards the lower by the higher. You can find it in the EN Hardcore Punk playlist – Here.
The middling ‘Foetus Fatality’ deviates away from standardised rage in favour of reverberating Punk-Blues and a sardonically playful jibe at an expected societal role. This Self-Titled EP isn’t linear and the band aren’t one to march to the same beat or warrant such from their listeners. ‘Foetus Fatality’ marks a drastic instrumental contrast with but is a clever lyrical highlight.
Along with ‘Bossman Says’, ‘Drinking The Night Away’ was a forerunner. Pigeon’s Pocket stagger-forth along a cocky and foreboding attitude rich bass-line. Again, it would be fair to a testament to the influence both Nirvana and Bikini Kill have on this band and or stylistic. In this penultimate reverberating mass of self-loathing tone, the booze flows parallel to the existential disdain as the band continue to convey what ails them.
‘No Nations No Borders’ pertains to what it says on the metaphorical tin. After a soundbite from a time long-past and a lingering air-raid siren, the final foray jumps into action. Pigeon’s Pocket are again under no illusion of liner-focus. The band straddle a line that itself intersects more that one unabated and pissed-off musical medium. Admittedly, though consistent with a prevailing quality, the band’s debut could arguably benefit from a higher frequency of up-tempo blasts. However, even without such, the debut still maintains an undebatable and key intensity.
Pigeon’s Pocket embodies very little guitar-melody and only do so as sporadically as required and as warped and eerie as possible. There is a persistent gusto to this release that balances the lack of higher-end tempo and the skull-grooving reverb and tone only assist this.
Well, that was Pigeon’s Pocket and their Self-Titled EP. A genre-crossing and debut mass of dirge sitting as a bold and disdain-oozing but indeed stable foundation to work from.
