Nestled in the heart of uber-hip Hoxton, Mother is the sort of trendy establishment you’d expect to see zeitgeist-plugging artsy bands, all haircuts and irony, so it’s refreshing to see something distinctly more old school in Essex three-piece RedTrack. A priceless glowing endorsement from Pete Shelley tells you more about where this band are at – they’re more Camden than Shoreditch, a band that deals first and foremost in riff-driven, tune-heavy punk.
Like a lot of venues in the area, Mother is a stylish dive, where the DIY vibe belies the prices behind the bar and the bands play at floor level. RedTrack waste no time in getting some movement going amongst the modest turnout, they have the explosive stage presence three-pieces tend to excel at, and frontman Billy Wright serves as an appropriate focal point, playing with a swaggering charisma that harks back to ‘77, and coupled with a sneering vocal delivery that completes the package. Unfortunately the acoustics at Mother are a little rough to say the least, but this only really adds to the punk vibe and it’s not for want of tightness from the band that the sound quality suffers.
A pitch-perfect interpretation of “London Calling” turns some heads, and big songs like recent single “Poledancer” pique the interest of the punters, but really RedTrack warrant bigger venues and bigger audiences, if they keep at it, they’re sure to get both.
