Scottish four-piece rock outfit Vukovi are without doubt one of the most exciting bands around right now and are touring their debut new self-titled album across the UK.
Vukovi have been working extremely hard on their new album and that is evident as soon as you hear it, whether you’ve bought the record or have been lucky enough to hear them perform it live. The noisy pop/rock show went down a treat at Sound Control in Manchester this week. Plus, the band were able to play in the bigger room upstairs due to a PA failure in the small room downstairs, but this just made it all the better.
Their music at times can be reminiscent of the likes of No Doubt fused with Incubus, with a flicker of Foals. They have an eclectic mix of rock, pop and even a little trance, and this blends brilliantly for an all-round live show that was enjoyable all the way through.
The gig began with the track “La Di Da” which was a superb way to open the show, with a pounding bassline and lyrics full of attitude. Right away the guitars and vocals blew the audience away, and it was LOUD! This set the tone for the evening ahead, following on with “Weirdo”. This is quite an upbeat, poppy track but the instrumentation and vocals again just continued to flow, totally saturating the crowd, it sounded immense. Janine got the audience involved, taking an enthusiastic fan’s mobile phone in her hand to film the band on stage live which was a great touch, giving it a more intimate feel despite being in the larger room.
“And He Lost His Mind” has a fast punk vibe and the build-up to the chorus was great, with the punchy bassline, heavy riffs and a combination of delicate vocals in the verse to the potent chorus melodies.
Before the album came out, Vukovi had released a number of singles, and the next song, “Bouncy Castle” was one. This got the crowd jumping, just like being on a bouncy castle, and with some more onstage phone filming from Janine there were certainly a few more happy fans!
The middle of the set consisted of songs such as “Prey”, “Wander” and “He Wants Me Not”. There was that cosy feeling whereby you felt close to the band, particularly in “He Wants Me Not”; Janine asked the crowd to get their mobile phones out and shine their lights and the crowd duly obliged. The catchy, well-played guitar riffs were still consistent throughout the middle of the gig with excellent drumming in the backdrop, all topped off with Janine’s powerful voice.
A song which struck a chord was the beautiful “Colour Me In”. This could be classed as a love song, maybe even a bit of a ballad. Regardless, it is a stunning track from the new album and it sounded just sublime in a live setting.
The last few songs of the set were just supreme, from the Enter Shikari trance-style tones of “I’m Wired” to one of my favourites, “Animal”. The crowd interaction with the band was loads of fun throughout the whole show, but the band and crowd were perfectly coordinated in simultaneously pulling shapes with their arms in the air for“Animal”.
The show concluded with “Boy George”, which was also released as a single before the album. This song just emits attitude, with fast, punky upbeat riffs and lyrics with intent and demeanor.
Vukovi are an electrifying rock band who are all incredibly, individually musically talented which makes them such a great act live. Their debut album is well-produced and I loved it from start to finish. It’s great to finally hear their album in full as I have been listening to them over and over since I stumbled across this band for the first time in May 2016. This was an even better gig than I’d expected, and I’ll be making a conscious effort to go and watch them again at Y Not Festival in July!
Setlist
La Di Da
Weirdo
And He Lost His Mind
Bouncy Castle
So Long Gone
Prey
Wander
He Wants Me Not
Colour Me In
I’m Wired
Target Practice
Animal
Boy George
Listen to “Animal” by Vukovi here on the official YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1TgTVXEpYQ
Sid Does Gigs 