Drenge, Electric Ballroom, London

Riding high off the release of their DIY 5-star rated second album, Drenge are brimming with confidence as they fill Camden’s sold-out Electric Ballroom with the menacingly reverberating riff of ‘Undertow’’s opener ‘Running Wild’. Eoin Loveless barely conceals a grin as he delivers the first echoing vocals of the night and the first of many delighted crowd surfers tumble over the barriers. With ‘Undertow’ under their belt Drenge have fully arrived as a staple of British live music, and they know it.

Drenge have always been flawless live, at times perhaps overly so; their live show recreating the record down to every crashing symbol and crunching riff. Post-‘Undertow’, with new bassist Rob Graham in tow and a increased vocal split between the Loveless brothers adding depth and body to everything, Drenge now have both the confidence and the freedom to ‘do what they want’. The freedom to tinker with tracks both old and new brings subtle changes to pitch, tempo and composition adding a new dimension to their live show. Still never missing a beat the new line-up allows Eoin in particular a bit more breathing space. Drenge live is now just different enough from the record to add surprise and intrigue for those most familiar with their recorded material while still similar enough to allow the mass singalongs and relentless movement tonight’s crowd yearns for.

The set-list flits back and forth between ‘Undertow’ and the band’s 2013 self-titled debut, hardly pausing for breath between tracks, with the reception and performance of cuts both old and new hardly distinguishable. With this the last night of the UK leg of their tour they’re clearly comfortable with the new material. Lead single ‘We Can Do What We Want’ is one of the biggest moments of the night, its clunky opening riff though powerfully and massive in sound is barely audible over the chaos that ensures throughout the entire crowd. Ranging from half-cut teenagers draped in sweaty band tees to aging rockers trying to fight the urge to pit with the youth, Drenge are for everyone. Momentum lets up briefly as they turn inwards for ‘Standing In The Cold’. Suddenly the grunge stereotype is filled in the form of one unified slow sway throughout the room, Eoin is at his most impassioned and Rory is as still as he ever gets as Drenge’s slowest number builds to its emotional climax.

Despite the more than enthusiastic reception for new material the set ends as always in the one-two-punch of ‘Fuckabout’ and ‘Let’s Pretend’, the singalong appeal of the former combined with the slow, commanding build of the latter too perfect to be sacrificed as of yet. With hardly a word spoken, carried by the strength of their material, effortless on-stage charisma and chemistry the night comes screeching to a halt, its relentless pace abruptly ending in what feels like minutes. With no encore the resounding feeling is one of assurance, Drenge know how to deliver a flawless live show and with a whole arsenal of colossal new material behind them are as good as they’ve ever been.