When considering the current situation we all find ourselves in, where the horsemen have been rallied and what was once an air of unpredictability has diffused into an undeniable stench of fear and bedlam, I thought it would be best to dedicate this article not to the stagnation of society, but instead to a night that brought me genuine happiness.
The 27th February layered a wintery framework for the night that saw Hertfordshire based indie / alternative rock band, ‘The Replies’, take to the stage in what was a highly anticipated debut live show. Following a long period of preparation in which the group, to quote frontman Isaac Franklin, “practised loads”, the four man collective, composed of Franklin (lead vocalist / rhythm guitarist), Max Allen (drummer), Joseph Sykes (bass guitarist) and Dylan Palmer (lead guitarist), dynamically took over The Horn in St Albans, playing six original tracks which ranged from the punk infused ‘Eyelids’ to the mellow ‘Dream of Sleep’. Talking to the group following the performance, I hoped to delve deeper into their thoughts on everything from easing pre gig nerves with a disconnected guitar hero guitar, to what comes next.
Upon walking into the venue one thing in particular stood out; it was especially snug. The fittingly intimate nature of the room enabled a warm and electric atmosphere to be generated amongst the crowd prior to the four stepping onto the stage, while also staying true to the personal and distinctive nature of the groups ballads. Two large speakers enclosed the stage, upon which Allens choice of machinery for the night, a bold, rusting drum kit asserted itself as the main attraction. When I asked Allen about the kit over a game of Call of Duty he chuckled in a stagnated fashion, as to not detract too much of his attention from the game playing out in front of him, saying, “It was the one that the headline band had rented out and they had actually rented it from the same people 10 years ago. It was a very rusty piece of kit, I had to keep trying to keep all the screws in place as I was playing!”. Two more modern guitars, one electric and one bass, stood proudly on either side of an individual microphone that was being hugged tightly by a third, each of their strings glistening under a wash of atmospheric mood lighting.
The room was ventilated by an air of anticipation.The diverse composition of the crowd, saw all different types of people waiting eagerly, from intoxicated teenagers fresh from an early evening raid of their parents liquor cupboard to regular pub goers, all with their eyes anxiously flickering towards the direction of the door that found itself the gateway of the night's entertainment. Behind that door, a far more anxious scene was playing out backstage. While waiting in the Call of Duty lobby, following our 7th consecutive loss in the space of half an hour, Allen had time to candidly go into detail about the groups desperate attempts to distract themselves before they stepped on stage, “We were all s******* ourselves but at the same time we were so desperate to perform. We were doing anything to distract ourselves. There was a guitar hero guitar backstage and we were just messing about with it, trying to take our mind off it”.“ When I separately asked Franklin about the ordeal he echoed a similar sentiment, poetically describing the experience as “beautifully terrifying”.
Half an hour later the door swung open and, in a single file line, the four came out. First out was a jubilant Franklin, his turned up light brown jeans revealing bright white socks that found shelter in tattered black vans. His silver chain sat on top of an oversized, tucked in, black tee shirt. Allen followed shortly after, waving energetically to the crowd, before being trailed by the calming presences of both Palmer and Sykes.
The performance was initially delayed as Palmer adopted the unconventional approach of tuning his guitar on stage, chuckling to himself as he did so. Meanwhile, Franklin was able to charismatically engage with the audience in a charatisitically sarcastic manner. His comedic tone added to the genuine, down to earth nature of the entire night, making it feel as though you had actually gone to see your mates band play, rather than going to watch a band full of self inflated egos. Talking about the approach he took to addressing the audience Franklin recalled, “My thought process was that we weren’t cool enough to do the whole ‘laid back distant thing’, so we had to just give it everything. You know people had come to see us, because we hadn’t released any music yet so it was important that it felt like they had come to see their mates play, not that they’d come to see some band they didn’t know play.”
The performance itself was electrifying. The four played their tracks ‘Eyelids’, ‘Wasting Time’, ‘Something Profound’, ‘Outside’, and ‘Dream of Sleep’ before rounding off with the floor shaking ‘Paperweights’. Throughout the night, in the midst of a flurry of whoops and cheers, each member displayed what can only be described as raw talent. Allen, with the snares as his canvas, provided a vibrant background of hard hitting drum beats upon which further detail was added by Franklin's gritty vocal talent, Sykes’ spellbinding bass lines and Palmer’s thrilling riffs. Ultimately, by the end of the night, the perfect picture had been painted.
After the final chord had been played, the final symbol crashed and the final note sung, to a deafening soundtrack of cheers and applause Franklin raised both arms and with a cheesy grin larger than life, shouted, “We’ve been The Replies! Thank you so f****** much”.
So, what comes next? In Franklin's words, “More gigs, more songs, and maybe even releasing something for Soundcloud”.
For any enquiries you are able to contact the band through their Instagram account, @thereplies.
George Robertson.
