Friday night, Atlas hosted several Danish punk bands for SPOT. Communions, Lower, and Iceage all showed off different definitions of loud.
Inside by Naomi Hiller, Jutland Station.
Getting loud with some of the best of Danish punk Arriving at Atlas around 23:00, the room had a relatively calm vibe. While the crowd maintained this composure, the stage exploded with raw-edged energy. Enthused teenagers were pushed up against the stage, looking straight out of Ghost World and toting vintage point-and-shoots. Musician and industry types hung by the edges and bobbed forward when acts took the stage.
Today’s 90s style revival came through full force through the punk bands that followed. Copenhagen based Communions, Lower, and Iceage all have distinct stylistic differences, but contribute to keeping the genre alive and fresh.
Communions
Channelling retro garage rock vibes, Communions had a light summery feel that was just rough enough around the edges. Martin Rehof’s vocals were mostly muffled and shouty, so not many messages made it through. This didn’t matter in the long run. Communions oozed a young angsty spirit via subtly unravelled rock. The incomprehensible vocals added to their imperfect charm.
The four piece wasn’t the liveliest on stage, but this worked with their steady London Calling rhythms. Good, consistent drums backed up tangy intros and great guitar riffs, sometimes played in unison by both guitarists for extra pop. The crowd kept its calm composure, but I could picture Communions working up a rad dance floor (more of a mosh pit for the acts that followed).
Faced with a bigger and livelier audience at shows like this summer’s Roskilde festival, I’m sure Communions will create proper ruckus. Having been recently featured on Pitchfork among other sites, SPOT and Roskilde are only the beginning for these Danish rockers. Their SPOT performance was a great intro to the group’s unique sound as they start on their ascent to international fame.
Lower
In the pause before their set, Lower’s drummer was already pounding heavy, direct rhythms across Atlas. Around a quarter to midnight, Vocalist Adrian Toubro took the stage and it became his show.
Toubro and his microphone were moodily spotlit, while the rest of the members fell into shadow. Despite not being the visual focus, Lower’s instrumentals were superb and often stood out beyond Toubro’s rhythmic punk vocals.
Anton Rothstein’s drumming was freakishly sharp and energetic. His rhythms were often quick like a jackrabbit and freakishly precise. Steady, heavy bass lines and fuzzy grungy guitar were piled on to make well-organized noise.
Toubro had great energy and stage presence, although his shouted lyrics could get tiring. He did set the perfect scene for the night’s punk atmosphere as he dragged his mic cord and set list through a puddle of water and beer at his feet.
Iceage
Iceage’s set started with a lot of broken glass. Frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt took to the stage’s edge at made himself at home. The lights in the venue turned way down, and the stage was weakly backlit. Rønnenfelt was dressed in all black and the space was black to match.
Rønnenfelt embodied the epitome of troubled moody youth, strutting sultrily around the stage and making haphazard movements. Iceage’s set was perfectly unpredictable and totally mesmerizing.
The singer fell into audience members, collapsed on the ground, curled up against a monitor, and wound cables around his neck. None of his antics were done in the vein of a self-indulgent rock star. The crowd was included in Rønnenfelt’s performance. Our eyes adjusted to the darkness so he was more intimately visible than under glaring multicoloured lights and fog.
Like Lower, Iceage had a strong drummer with sharp rhythms. Tasty guitar formed neat melodies that Rønnenfelt shot down with his powerful vocals. Although the performance included its fair share of yelling, Rønnenfelt’s singing chops came through at several points and added another dimension to this complex act.
As one of today’s biggest names in the Copenhagen punk scene, Iceage stood up to their hype with a captivating performance. Having started their set with a crash, Rønnenfelt ended the show with a quiet bow. His audience was released from their spell and thus ended another eventful night at SPOT.
Photo by Naomi Hiller
Naomi Hiller is a Canadian style and culture writer who writes for The Main and Shelly’s London. She likes writing about the crafty things and music here in Denmark.
This article was produced independently by Jutland Station.
