Hardcore Punk - Negative Approach

Back in the early 1980's, before the internet, mobile phones, streaming, and numerous channels on the TV and radio, the only way to listen to music from the margins was a) to try and find a record shop that stocked it or b) swap tapes with mates.

A friend at school gave me several brilliant compilations of punk (that I dearly wish I still had), introducing me to a whole new subculture that continues to interest me to this day. It's fair to say that what was happening in the Detroit suburbs did not reach impressionable ears in a South Wales school yard.

At the time, Negative Approach was creating a furious musical blueprint for hardcore Detroit punk. They burned brightly, released one album, Tied Down, then split up, mutating into various other bands. That one album, however, gradually spread its influence to the point that Negative Approach is considered one of the seminal bands of the hardcore punk genre.

One such fan, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth fame, enticed the band to reform, albeit not in the original lineup, around 2006, and they have been occasionally touring ever since. Therefore, it was great to hear that they were rolling into Leeds again to unleash their ferocious sound.

Boom Leeds is a DIY venue that specializes in hardcore, punk, and metal music. So if you like your music loud and on the margins, Boom is the place for you. It has a real sense of community and is a very welcoming place. It is facing a very real struggle to keep such a grassroots venue going due to the collapse of revenue during COVID and a recent flood. Fundraising is ongoing, and I hope it pulls through, as it is an essential part of the Leeds scene, providing a platform for bands that would often struggle to find a place to play.

A low roof and no stage to speak of create a real intimacy; the band and audience are face-to-face, which perfectly suits John Brannon's intense scowl and barking voice. The band can still summon a righteous intensity, and the mosh pit is soon pinballing around the tight space, cranking up the heat as they dervish around. 

The tracks come thick and fast, nothing is much over 90 seconds, and they crash into you like waves on a stormy sea. Ready to Fight Nothing, and Tied Down still sound angry, brutal, and nihilistic, which made me reflect that the conflicting time in which they were originally written has unfortunately still got many echoes in the current day.

A fabulously cathartic experience all around.

Negative Approach played Boom Leeds on 29 May.