Live Review: Scrounge at The Lexington, London 23/4/25

Scrounge have been getting a lot of love from us at Joyzine recently. I recently reviewed their latest album Almost Like You Could, Paul Maps spoke to the band for an in-depth track-by-track guide, and they also made an appearance in Chris Patmore’s review of the recent Cro Cro Land festival. As Paul Cook quipped, “It’s the week for Scrounge — it’s like Shark Week, but with fewer sharks.” In truth, Scrounge have been Joyzine favourites since 2019.

The love continued as I headed to The Lexington in London to catch them live at their album launch show. Admittedly, I was a little late to the Scrounge party, only discovering them recently — but as someone with a soft spot for noisy duos, I was curious and excited to see how their recorded energy translated on stage.

The night opened with support act Liv Wynter. Their music isn’t my usual genre — somewhere between rap and spoken word with live beats and visuals they projected themselves — but what absolutely pulled me in was the fire behind it. Liv is a trans artist with a lot to be angry about, and rightfully so. With the recent Supreme Court ruling to redefine “woman” in legal terms as solely based on biological sex, the show took on an even sharper political edge.

Though I’m a cis woman, this change enrages me too. As someone who identifies as a feminist and strives to be inclusive and intersectional, it feels like a step backwards — and Liv’s performance helped articulate the pain and resistance behind that feeling. They gave a passionate and powerful speech on what cis people can do to help: from speaking up against transphobia to donating to trans charities.

But Liv’s anger wasn’t just reserved for trans rights — they also called attention to racism and the war in Palestine, delivering a fiery, urgent reminder of the interconnectedness of these issues. If there was already a fire in my belly about the state of the world, Liv’s set added more fuel.

Then it was time for Scrounge, and from the first chord, they owned the room. The duo blasted through a tightly packed 40-minute set, featuring tracks from Almost Like You Could including ‘Higher’, ‘Waste’, and ‘Buzz/Cut’, along with older songs that long-time fans clearly relished.

What stood out was how the live versions added even more intensity to the recorded tracks. Gritty, punchy, and unapologetically loud — Scrounge’s performance was both cathartic and commanding. You could tell they care deeply about what they’re putting out into the world, and the connection between the two bandmates was palpable, driving that raw, cohesive sound.

They took a moment between songs to show support for the queer community and echoed Liv Wynter’s call to stand up for trans rights — a reminder that solidarity onstage can be just as important as the music itself. Their words landed warmly in a crowd that clearly shared the sentiment: after all, as they said, “we’re better together.”

They closed their set with a crowd favourite — ‘Badoom’, an older track I’ve recently fallen for myself. It was a glorious, sweaty singalong, with the whole room chanting “Badoom… Badoom… Badoom…” in time, unified in noise and joy.

After a night like that, it feels wrong not to leave readers with something tangible — a way to support the causes raised on stage:

Organisations to support trans people: