Over the past year Vulpynes have been making a name for themselves both here and abroad. Only less than a year old the duo have gained a lot of support for their singles ‘Terry Said’ and ‘OCD’ and are developing a name for themselves for their no nonsense ruckus live performances. They have released their new single ‘Silica’ with an accompanying video on the 21st of July and they celebrated the launch with a gig at The Workman’s Club last Saturday. Having seen the girls live earlier in the year supporting Fangclub we were happy to accept an invitation to check out their headline show.
Singer songwriter Jon Dots, the alter ego of the solo music making wizard Darragh McCabe (also the drummer of alt-punk band Alien She)  kicks of the night. Opening his set with the bright texture-warping ‘One Fine Day’. McCabe stands on stage humble with a guitar and laptop then unexpectedly this luscious rich sound comes from the stage filling the room with his unique fantastically layered indie pop with cinematic bursts, echos and divine melodies. Using distortion shrills,electronic smacks and loops teamed with his powerful vocals he’s completely captivating. His knack for melody and composition is remarkable every fragment of each song is euphoric and intricately rich and McCabe performs with such intensity it’s extremely thrilling, imagine Børns only more raw,edgy and dark. He lets the music speak for itself with little to no speech between the songs.It’s quite the engulfing performance that holds everyone’s attention even the usually awkward guitar retuning is met by absolute silence I’ve never seen a crowd so quiet as they await the treasures McCabe will play next. When you think he surely cannot top that fantastic set…  he does beautifully and simply with the sweetest delicate and elegant ‘Always You’. The sway-like candied doo wop gentle track is heartmeltingly tender and emotional. Passionately performed the melty melody and dreamy exterior of this track is just irresistible and softly sweet. Building to an intense expressive heart felt crescendo and ending on a light creamy note it’s a beautiful way to end his set.
The Dynamic Duo Stitch Jones follow. These guys seem to be everywhere at the moment. ‘Nothing War’ blasts us straight into their ruckus causing set. With a touch of technical difficulties they sing and play through the blunder in true rock and roll manner. Since the last time we saw them which was….. the week before, the lads are in top form evil laughs and all, (Tinder date went well I was told) and songs are heavy and skull bashing as always. The tunes, heavy riffs and bruising drums blast through the amps while the vibrations cause our drinks to move along the table. That’s an insane reaction to their tracks it’s so good even our drinks want to dance. They bellow out a nice little sample of George Michael’s ‘Outside’ before exploding into ‘Groove Mission’. These guys are packed with energy and fun vibes with humorous banter from a ZZ Top rip off beat to beards while still belting out powerful neck snapping tunes. They close their set with ‘Hold Me Klausly’ their self described “steady stain of manure” truly a blustering mostly instrumental wallop of pulverising drums and crunching bass.The crescendo of the track is the squealing shrilling finale where Watchy drops his bass on the floor before saying “look after each other”. Check them out on “Bebo and Myspace”
Vulpynes take to the stage with a “one two, one two” mic check before a feedback shrill. “ok lets do this” and we are off dirty, gritty riffs play over crowd screams and pummelling drums. The timid duo began with sweet nervous introductions and then kick you in the face with their no nonsense hard core rock. The energy levels from the crowd immediately peak they draw closer to the stage and bop and begin to mosh manically. Maeve keeps movement minimal focusing on delivering a high powered dynamic set while Kaz batters the drums with tireless vitality. The heavy instrumentation vibrates through and compels the crowd to move. For a band barely a year old the sound is weighty and overruling. Each track belts out relentless aggressive stamina. Even the “slow song for if your feeling romantic” is a deception thankfully these girls do hefty rock well and for the moment that’s what they stick to. ‘Terry Said’ sparks immediate applause and screams clearly a fan favourite the duo strike out a knocking performance of the fierce track. Launch single ‘Silica’ results in heavy moshing and jumping Maeve’s vocals are harsher and meaner for this track as its feistier and frantic. ‘OCD’ closes their set, accelerated and hard core, it’s an explosive way to end their show. The duo walk of stage to screaming fans for “one more song” while the new video for ‘Silica’ plays on the backdrop behind.
Vulpynes kicked ass. In their first year they have achieved so much with their bloodthirsty ear bleeding tunes and blasting live sets. These girls deserve to go far.