Brothers Eoin and Rory Loveless may make up one of the smaller bands on the scene at the moment, but they more than make up for their lack of personnel with their explosive sound. The two Irishmen kick things off with more excited rage than a rabid werewolf. The third track on their eponymous debut, ‘I Wanna Break You In Half’ reaches a fever pitch of adolescent fury as Drenge rage against the machine with grunge influences aplenty; the listener’s blood practically boils over as Eoin growls about how he wants to “make you piss your pants/I wanna break you in half”.
Next up is ‘Bloodsports’, which showcases the very best of Tom Watson’s favourite band. Drenge are not here to please the indie kids, nor is it their mission to provide some more vapid, jangly indie pop. ‘Bloodsports’ swaggers through its two-and-a-half minutes with the threat of violence lurking under the surface throughout. With the arrogant sneer of Nick Cave, the unfettered anger of the Sex Pistols and the powerful, head-banging riffs of Nirvana, Drenge provide something that’s been missing from music for too long.
After an electrifying opening, Drenge dies down a bit, and if one were to find some criticism for the album, it would be that the band appear to lose track of what they’re trying to do for a bit. There’s only so far that frenetic sub-3 minute songs can get you, and fortunately Drenge appear to realize this before too long.
‘Let’s Pretend’, the penultimate track, is one of the most interesting songs on the album. At more than eight minutes long, it allows Drenge to showcase a more expansive, inventive sound. Drenge then reinvent themselves again for the album closer, ‘Fuckabout’, which reveals tenderness in its soft, gently crooned sound coupled with drawling irony in the lyrics which mock its own love song pretensions (“when I put the kettle on/you put heavy metal on”).
All in all, Drenge have produced an extremely impressive debut, and we can’t wait to get to their live shows and see Tom Watson moshing with the kids at the front.
Drenge’s album is out now and is available to stream here.
