Pulled Apart By Horses | Live Review

These exact kind of boozy gigs, packed can come to define a band

It’s a fact that Pulled Apart By Horses are a well oiled touring machine; now with new album ‘Blood’ ready to dispatch, the hot-headed Leeds bunch return baring bigger, burlier tracks than ever before; and they throw in a little hometown surprise.

As the four adorn the stage to the ‘Hot Squash’ intro it’s clear we’re about to watch a band at the height of their game. The opener leaves most in an odd state of mildness, although it’s evidently soon about to reach boiling point. Another newie ‘Skull Noir’, despite it’s sluggish guitar intro sees the fully-fledged moshing begin, it’s not a dense crowd though, so people fly across the room with the encouragement of a swift barge. This is the perfect chance for all kinds of people to let off some mid-week steam, with the majority being students.

The third studio album has also been their first to enter the UK’s top forty, so it’s no wonder that this show has raised quite the bit of excitement; and hell does it come off on the night. There’s more than enough material from the first two records to keep people unfamiliar with the new stuff happy. That inevitably comes in the form of ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’ and ‘Everything Dipped In Gold’, tracks which should form a staple of this bands live show for years to come. These songs are amped through at skull-shuddering volumes, meaning that tinnitus will be accompanying bruised ribcages in the morning. Although this tried and tested formula still makes the brashest of statements.

It’s these exact kind of boozy gigs, packed with loose elbows and fists that can come to define a band; but surely these guys have done enough of them to reach legendary status now. As guitarist James Brown throws himself into the front rows, I grapple the guitar-neck and wrestle amongst the bodies; moments like this will always be remembered by individuals. Bun big budgets and stadiums, sometimes you simply can’t beat a bit of old school moshery.

Now about that surprise, although some of the crowd may have already clocked a familiar face in the room; for the encore track ‘Yeah Buddy’, Turbowolf’s Chris Georgiadis crops up with a towel on his head, screaming relentlessly. It’s a sweet penultimate feature, making for perfect sense. After the final track ‘I Punched A Lion In The Throat’, I genuinely haven’t felt as ruined since secondary school gym class - but that’s nothing a nightcap at Brewdog can’t take care of.

Check out ‘Hot Squash’ right here: