London Underground: CuT at the Macbeth
SOPHIE HARRIS GOES TO SEE CUT AND SPEAKS TO THEIR DRUMMER, LOUIS LOVE
Sitting in Badar’s Cocktail Bar above the Macbeth in Shoreditch an hour before the gig, we meet CuT, who inform us they are nipping down the road to get some free pizza. First impressions suggest they are simultaneously down to earth and eclectic. Both their clothing and musical styles have consistently been compared to The Ramones – admittedly, there were a lot of leather jackets around, and lead singer Dan’s long black hair does conjure up an image of Joey Ramone.
CuT’s musical characteristics do bare similarities to the famed punk-rock band, yet their music is more idiosyncratic to be simply labelled as ‘punk rock.’ Self-described as ‘space punk’, CuT blares out reverberated garage rock, mashed with dreamy harmonies and a touch of glam. I was particularly looking forward to seeing ‘Tears’ live, a song that I discovered on the band’s SoundCloud.
The online recording features Keebo, and I absolutely adore the pure harmonies she creates alongside Dan’s cool, deep voice. It kind of gives out a ‘90s Sonic Youth, Vaselines-esque vibe. Although Keebo didn’t perform with CuT on the night, the song was definitely a highlight with Dan’s vocals holding up the raw brilliance of the melody.
They opened with ‘Let’s Go,’ a simplistically catchy tune, which sparked off the dancers and the fun atmosphere of the night. I was really excited to hear ‘Let’s Go,’ following the band’s recently released new music video, which is hilariously clever.
The band explores many different approaches musical styles, yet still maintain an idiosyncratic rawness throughout. For example, quite a different song yet still an indisputable partiality of mine, has to be ‘Polaroid,’ with the brilliant melody and the chorus’ sing-songy harmonies harking back to the ‘60s.
The band is fantastic live and the passion during the set is irrefutable. Drawing towards the finale of the gig, playing ‘Get Me a Gun’, Jimmy drops to his knees and wildly presses his guitar against his amp. Louie’s arms begin to windmill around, as though Pete Townshend had been given a drum kit. It is beautiful, feedbacked, rock and roll chaos.
AFTER THE GIG, I BRIEFLY SPOKE TO THE DRUMMER, LOUIE, ABOUT SOME THINGS THAT WERE NAGGING MY BRAIN DURING THE SET:
How come you chose CuT as the name?
I THINK IT WAS NEVER SET IN STONE, WE ALWAYS PLANNED TO CHANGE IT, BUT WE THEN STARTED SEEING ‘CUT’ EVERYWHERE IN THE PAPER AND IN TOWN ‘PRICE CUT’ ‘SUPER CUTS’ ETC.
How did you meet?
WELL, ME AND JIMMY ARE BROTHERS AND WE HAVE ALL KNOWN EACH OTHER A LONG TIME. ME, DAN AND JAY ALL WORKED AT MACARIS ON DENMARK STREET TOGETHER – IT KINDA WENT FROM THERE.
On your SoundCloud, it mentions you class yourself as ‘space punk.’ Why do you describe yourself in this manner?
JUST THE SPEED OF [OUR MUSIC] AND THE AMOUNT OF FEEDBACK AND NOISE GENERATED.
I know you get likened to the Ramones a lot – who are your influences?
THERE ARE AN AWFUL LOT… WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES, FROM PIXIES, STONE ROSES AND THE CLASH TO HARDER BANDS LIKE MASS AND REMA REMA.
Any cool underground bands playing in London you like at the moment? Who are your favourites?
THERE ARE A LOT… ARROWS OF LOVE ALWAYS SPRING TO MIND. I’VE BEEN DIGGING A BAND CALLED ICE AGE AT THE MOMENT BUT THEY’RE FROM DENMARK!
Yes, Ice Age are fantastic! Can you tell us about your upcoming gigs? Are there any you’re particularly excited about?