You get to a stage in life where you know exactly what you need, what it is that will shake your tree so to speak. For many of us that will always be music and when it’s served up live and with relish, well, that is an appetising dish indeed. Now, to save messing round with semantics, to me Punk has always been one of the widest and loosest musical definitions going; it’s a many-headed beast but you will know it when you see it and we certainly saw it here.
Caernarfon’s White Ether, who have been making waves along the North Wales Coast, hit Wrexham with the force of a Tsunami and provided the highlight of Focus Wales for many with their old time-good time, romper-stomper Punk Rock.
Opening up with Death of a Tyrant, it’s easy to see the ingredients that make White Ether such a compelling live act. There’s the infectious melodies, the sort that have that reassuring familiar ring, that bounce along and draw you in. If the Devil really did get the best tunes he loaned a good few out during the Punk/New Wave era as arguably Britain has never produced so many quirky, original and gold-standard singles as between 1976-82 and yes, I include the ‘60’s.
White Ether distil this spirit perfectly as tracks like Music By Numbers, Strangely Attractive and forthcoming single Red Sky demonstrate. Guitarists Steve Crocker and Keith Morris gel perfectly, firing out riffs aplenty. Singer John D. Morris is a study of concentration while drummer Iolo Jones drives the groove like a latter-day Rat Scabies.
However, the sight for all sore eyes is adopting a familiar pose, a power-stance that would make any politician green with envy; the legend that is Rhys Mwyn. He’s thrashing the bass and locked in with the drums to provide a driving rhythm section and the authentic Punk Rock charisma that spices the evening.
White Ether are a blast of fresh air and living proof of all that remains good about the Punk scene. They are a superb live experience and sure to shake your bag of bones when they come to your town. See them!