Gig: Mallory Knox @ Islington Assembly Hall, London
Mallory Knox by Anne Pfalzgraf
After the band’s return with all five original members earlier this year to play Slam Dunk Festival, Mallory Knox embarked on a limited run of UK shows to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their iconic second album Asymmetry. The last day of the tour was a second sold-out London show at the Islington Assembly Hall on 20 October which was added due to high demand. Support came from the electronic infused pop-rock outfit Hrtlss and the dark electronica quartet Call Me Amour to get the crowd warmed up and hyped for a night celebrating the return of one of alt-rocks finest.
Hrtlss
Playing their third ever live show, Hrtlss were opening the stage, with a blend of rock, pop and electronica, paired with chunky guitar riffs to add a metal edge to their sound, while people still slowly trickled in. The crowd seemed to be a bit tricky at the beginning and needed some convincing, but their mellow emotionally fuelled set evoked some swaying and head nodding towards the end. Starting off as a three-piece, their fourth member and guitarist for Mallory Knox, James Gillett, joined for the last two songs concluding the short but sweet set.
Call Me Amour
Up next were Call Me Amour who wasted no time in warming up the crowd, bringing a darker electro-pop infused alt-rock sound with soaring guitar riffs, anthemic choruses and loads of energy. By the second song vocalist Harry Radford had already jumped off the stage and into the crowd to get them moving. The crowd kept the energy up and were excited to see Mikey Chapman join in for ‘Good Day’ before Harry joined them on the floor again to finish off their set.
Mallory Knox
By the time the lights turned off for the final time, the venue was filled to the brim and the anticipation was at its peak. The was palpable as the Cambridge-based alt-rock quintet entered the stage to Taylor Swift’s ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together’ before seamlessly transitioning into the blistering ‘Ghost In The Mirror’ which instantly saw the floor erupt into a massive circle pit. Known for their emotionally charged vocals, heartfelt lyrics and raw guitar riffs, Mallory Knox took their fans on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the night. Crowd-favourite tracks such as ‘Wake Up’, ‘Oceans’ and ‘Shout at the Moon’ saw the crowd singing along on the top of their lungs, dancing and moshing along.
They raced through their set with unrelentless energy which even though pre-dominantly focused on ‘Asymmetry’ was cramped with fan-favourites from some of their other records as well. The fans were treated to a powerful finale, before finishing off with the anthemic ‘Lighthouse’ which saw the whole room being lit up with torches, leaving the audience exhilarated and hungry for more and concluding an evening in celebration of music.
