Two nights ago at The Social in London's iconic Heavenly Records venue, Radio X’s John Kennedy hosted This Feeling’s third Test Transmission night. Six acts took part, with Manchester’s Spangled stealing the show.
Images courtesy of Alan Wells
Good bands are tight. Great bands are tight and loose all at the same time. Spangled proved they are latter on groove-laden opener ‘We’ll Always Have Neptune’. Jamie Haliday’s Mark Day-esque guitar lines cruised effortlessly alongside frontman Ben Johnson’s poetic take Jim Bob vocal and his Robert Harvey (The Music) meets freaky dancing. The twist and turn from baggy to psychedelic to punk simultaneously. Unhinged and untamed, they roam with a sonic freedom sent from the Gods.
Their desire to perform without conformity is joyously refreshing. During ‘Cosmic Vibrations’ Johnson meanders with the mercurial stage presence of Kate Bush whilst all around him they converge Blur and Kasabian into a psychedelic indie-punk supergroup from another galaxy. Haliday’s solo dives into the gothic majesty of The Cure before spiralling upward to the technicolour splendour of Prince’s rock ‘n’ roll.
This isn’t a set of style of over substance however. Integrity is key and exemplified by the astonishing performance of ‘Good Life Better’. Written about the passing of Johnson’s father after their Isle of Wight set in 2021, it’s a track fraught with emotion. Johnson lets out a guttural howl of “cooommeeee ooonnnn” in the early stages, laying bare just how difficult this track is to navigate. The intimate crowd’s spines, already tingling, are sent into hyperdrive with Johnson delivers “That's when all of the scars inside of my soul were gone”. The torment and anguish flood to the surface as he wrenches the words from his soul. In turn, it breeds an atmosphere of “we’ll fucking die for this band”, and it’s intoxicating.
In five songs, Spangled showcased that skill is not enough. With glory must come guts, and they have it in spades! The band has an indomitable spirit, a heart and soul that will see the masses follow them into battle and win.