Drenge

Drenge (Photo courtesy Press Here)

The song “We Can Do What We Want” is a snarling 3-minute banger that tells the listener to fuck off.

It gets straight to the point, but man, you sure can dance to it as well. Is it a dash of The Clash? A bit of Ramones?

Whatever it may be, it involved a whole lot of youthful energy from the three-man band Drenge, fresh to the United States from Sheffield, England, where the gents have refined their mastery of blistering punk beats over the course of two records. Drenge are touring in support of the second record, Undertow, and they stopped by U Street Music Hall in a sold-out show to open for Wolf Alice as a stop on the tour.

I don’t know if the crowd was expecting an opening act as kinetic as Drenge, but I do know that Drenge was expecting a crowd. From the start, drummer Rory Loveless served as a spokesperson and announcer for the band, addressing the audience in crisp accented English. His brother and guitarist/vocalist Eoin Loveless followed his lead to engage in a bit of banter here and there, but Rory kept the show moving.

Drenge (Photo courtesy Press Here)

Grunge and punk have a long, complex relationship, and bands in the United Kingdom like Royal Blood have been adding layers to that relationship in recent years.

Enter the Brothers Eoin and Rory Loveless, who formed a U.K. band called Drenge, an outfit that plays bluesy punk wrapped inside a grunge aesthetic. The simplicity of the formula is appealing, and the brothers manage to sound like a much bigger band. On tour, they actually are a bigger band with the addition of bassist Rob Graham.

They are touring now in support of their second album Undertow, released earlier this year. And they stop in DC to perform at U Street Music Hall tonight, Oct. 1, opening for fellow U.K. band Wolf Alice. Yesterday, they released a new video for their song “The Woods.”

Watch for the video for “The Woods” by Drenge on YouTube:

We were going to recommend that you hit the show, but you can’t buy tickets because the show sold out! We’ll tell you how it was in a few days. Watch this space!

Drenge
Opening for Wolf Alice
Thursday, Oct. 1
Doors @7pm
$20
All ages