Monday is traditionally a bit of a slow night for gigs, as the post-weekend hangover and exhaustion make their way through the system, but this one’s a bit different. I’m at the New Cross Inn to see Down Charmed, who I first saw at the Good Mixer in Camden when they were starting out. Their show has gone from a short set of great tunes to a full-on display of blistering riffage and epic songwriting.
I’ve arranged to have a chat with them before their gig, so Abi (vocals), Ben (guitars), Mike (bass), Luke (drums) and I head downstairs and park ourselves on barstools by the loos, where it’s quiet. It’s been quite a full-on week – alongside the day jobs, they had a gig in Plymouth, and Ben and Abi are in the midst of moving flat.
I’m curious about the band name. Abi explains that she and Ben came up with it during lockdown, looking at random name generators. “It was ‘down’ something and ‘something else’ charmed,” she explains. They put them together. “We researched it to see if anybody else had it and find the meaning of it. I can’t find this any more, but there was an article that said it was an old English version of ‘bad luck’. We haven’t found the article since, but it was cool. And whether it meant it or not, I’m going to say that’s what it means!”
The band met in the Good Mixer in Camden – Ben and Abi both worked there. Ben started writing songs and got Abi singing them. Mike hadn’t played bass for a while, but started playing again in lockdown, then joined a band – “I hooked up with a few mates just for a laugh to get back going, but it wasn’t going anywhere”, he says, so he started working with Ben and Abi. “It really sort of came together drunkenly,’ he continues, “after they’d finished their shifts one night”. Luke was also in a band at the time, but had been talking to Ben about doing a heavier, quicker project. “You guys came and kept seeing me in the Dublin Castle where I kept gigging and just stole me” Luke says, “and I was like, let’s do this!”
Luke definitely got his heavy project – the band’s first EP A First Attempt At Happiness offers some chunky riffs and plenty of opportunity to show off some skilful drumming – but it’s also big on melody and dynamics, with thoughtful lyrics and attention-grabbing arrangements.
What influences them? “So for me,” Ben says “it’s all skate punk and I’m always in punk bands.” He likes Alkaline Trio, NOFX and Bad Religion, plus quicker skate punk and nineties stuff.
“And then for vocals,” Abi says, “I love emo and I love pop punk… being a female vocalist, obviously Hayley Williams has to be mentioned as she’s influenced a lot of people, Lynn Gunn from Pvris, she did a lot for me as well… with my melody stuff it’s bands like Neck Deep, more pop-punky, sort of experimental side of things.” Luke’s also keen on emo and pop-punk, plus heavy stuff.
That EP came out in October 2024. They recorded it in August, at Windy Ridge Studios in Colindale, and had the EP launch show just before Halloween. “I was in Europe working on a tour and we had the EP launch show,” Ben says, “so I had to leave the guys in charge of it and I flew from Copenhagen to London, played the show and flew back to go on to another tour to do some work! It was fun.”
They’re already written the songs for their next EP. “The second EP has been quicker,” says Ben. As soon as they’d finished the first one, he sat down to write. “I think I churned out something like 20, 30 songs, then probably a few months ago sat with Abi and was like ‘Here’s everything’. Let’s start culling some of this and having an EP and not just my thoughts sprawled on pages!”
“We’ve more or less written it,” Mike explains. “We’ve just got to hone it.”
Ben goes into more detail. “There’s two songs left to really hone live and then it’s pretty good. We’ve started playing a lot of the new songs in the shows at the moment and just seeing how they go down. Just testing them out with audiences…so, are these actually good, do people like them?”
They’ve done a lot of gigs since I last saw them. What has it been like getting those gigs and playing in different places? “We’ve all been around Camden for a while and have worked at pretty much every bar in Camden you can think of,” Abi says, adding that it helps to get gigs when the people at the venue already know you – “though it still isn’t easy.” Ben does a lot of their booking and promoting after doing it for other bands for years, and says it can be a bit of a gamble for venues to put on a band, though there are some really good venues in London.
They recently played at The Junction in Plymouth, which Mike describes as “one of our best shows”. They also loved Trinity Bar in Harrow.
“The promoter for that was really supportive, went out of his way to make us feel comfortable and stuff,” Ben says. “He was really nice. Especially as all the other bands had played their nights before, we were the new band.”
This is their first show as a band at the New Cross Inn, though Mike played here nine years ago and Luke played here in 2021. “It was awful.” Luke sighs. “The cover band I was with… this will be a lot better.”
What are they listening to at the moment? They’re delighted to share their influences. “I’m having a bit of a Peter Gabriel renaissance,” says Mike “but I’m showing my age here.” Luke chimes in with Bullet For My Valentine and “anything heavy metal, it could be Beartooth, Pierce the Veil”, to which Mike adds Interpol.
“I’ve been getting back into old stuff,” Abi says. “Twenty One Pilots, things like that. I’m also obsessed with Baby No Money [bbno$] at the moment. He’s this internet rapper but he’s so good. He’s so funny. But it’s always Bring Me The Horizon and My Chemical Romance, Pierce the Veil, Neck Deep. They are always just on loop, constantly.”
Ben talks about “Green Day, The Lawrence Arms, early AFI, H20, The Wonder Years, loads of that stuff…”. His appreciation of Nickelback isn’t shared – yet. “He’s trying to force it on us, slowly, just infiltrate our minds,” Mike laughs.
“Another band I’ve got into recently, they’re like a French Wargasm, Imparfait.” Mike says. “I do like French hip hop… And Wargasm are friends of ours, so it’s very much in the same vein as them.”
All of which should add up to an interesting new EP. They’re planning plenty more gigs this year, both in and out of London. “We don’t want to overdo North London,” Mike says “‘cos people stop coming!”
We head upstairs again to catch the support bands and a generous two cocktails for £10 offer. There are some very blue lagoons, adding to the red and green light show and orange amps. There’s a pretty decent turnout for a Monday night, and people keep trickling in as the bands play.
Pigeon Lips are first. “We’re very gay,” the singer tells us. “We’ve got a lot of feelings.” They combine a punchy rhythm section with swampy guitar and the odd bit of noise rock – always a winner for me – and offer up plenty of power pop. They’ve got slower songs too, though even those pack a decent rhythmic punch.
Larry_73 have a bouncy skate punk vibe with a commercial sheen, and breeze through a set of catchy, sunny tunes. They do a quick rendition of ‘happy birthday’ for someone whose birthday it isn’t, and plays their latest single ‘Adrenaline’.
Down Charmed take the stage and thunder into ‘Living Dead’ with an energy that endangers the bottles and glasses on my wobbly table. ‘Cardinal Sin’ combines the vitality of a teenage band with the focus and heft of a military bombardment. By this stage, the other bands are at the front, nodding appreciatively.
We get more catchy tunes and thundering riffage, with contrasting intricate bass lines and thoughtful lyrics. ‘Obituary’ might be the kind of thing you’d hear if White Zombie played at a disco, and it brings more people to the front; Larry_73 have got some co-ordinated dance steps going. It’s not what you’d call a mosh pit, but then it’s a Monday night.
Want to join in? Down Charmed are coming soon to a venue near you, probably to a rock night dancefloor and maybe even to the charts.
You can catch Down Charmed at the Good Mixer on 3 April and the Dublin Castle on 9 April.
Down Charmed Facebook | Spotify | Instagram
Larry_73 Facebook | Spotify | Instagram
Pigeon Lips Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Interview and review by Hannah Boothby
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