Underground Talent & Political Rage

Forrest Flowers EP Release show @ New River Studios 13th December 2019. Words by Shane Simpson, photographs by Ellie Connor-Phillips.

It’s the day after the December 2019 General Election. The Tories are in. It’s Friday 13th. It’s raining, the nights are getting darker and the streets of London feel gloomy. Amongst all of this, tucked down an industrial alley off Seven Sisters Road, Forrest Flowers’ EP launch ignites a sense of hope and belonging.

As each band takes to the stage and more people gather in the venue, conversations about how everyone’s feeling mutter through the buzzing of amps and tuning of guitars. It seems most people are on a low, waiting patiently to get rowdy and mosh out their anger. Indie goth five-piece Outerhouse warm up the room with sharp, fuzzy guitar riffs breaking through their shoegaze-y sound and the crowd’s synchronised swaying. People are picking up magazines, chokers, custom garments and badges from creators’ stalls before promptly pushing the tables to the walls of the room to make way for the inevitable pit that hardcore three piece Burnout will bring. The disaster of the election night will soon be forgotten, sad energy turned into stomping boots and swinging fists.

A set from Brighton’s well loved, proudly uncensored all girl punk band PUSSYLIQUOR follows. There was shout outs of support for Corbyn, shout outs of hatred for Boris and the most amount of people in one room screaming the word “cunt” you’ve ever seen. The crowd knows practically every lyric. As the intro to ‘LADYWANK’ starts, the pent up frustrations of those let down by shitty exes and terrible one night stands radiates through pointed fingers and people shouting at the top of their lungs. PUSSYLIQUOR are a band I’ve seen more times than I can count, and a band I never want to stop seeing.

Awaiting the headliners, Forrest Flowers, I take a step back to take in what an incredible thing Noel and Co. have brought together. It’s a one-night festival of honest creativity, underground talent and political rage. All these people in one room are proving that in times like these, DIY community support is more vital than ever. Forrest Flowers tackle issues on stage such as immigration laws, homophobia and classism – issues that could not be more relevant on this momentous Friday night. At one point, kazoos are thrown out into the crowd towards the end of the song ‘Royal Misfits’, ending in a fuzzy cover of ‘God Save The Queen’. Every lyric is replaced by “Fuck Boris”, or the wailing of plastic kazoos that continue to be heard throughout the rest of the night.

This show is the third Forrest Flowers gig I’d been to in three months. There was Halloween, 5.18’s launch party and now the band’s release party for their EP ‘Are You Feeling It Now, Jimmy?’. Each one leaves you believing in the capabilities of direct action, a place to put your anger, and a place to call safe. We had fun. But we also kicked the fuck off.

You can find links to Forrest Flowers and their latest EP “Are You Feeling It Now, Jimmy?” on all platforms here, including the music video and merchandise.