Working Men’s Club, The Ritz, 12th November 2021

Working Men’s Club continue to be a baffling band. From the more guitar driven origins, the synths snuck in and took over. I know not everyone was happy about that, but if you look up the word banger in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure you’d be met with a picture of Sydney Minsky-Sargeant snarling back at you. New single ‘X’ definitely signals that they’ve not fallen out of love with guitars or live drums, but of course, the b-side ‘Y?’ is full on electro loops just to keep us on our toes. I’ve seen this band play in a lot of small rooms (I love small rooms). The Ritz is definitely a step up. Not a problem though, it is sold out and bouncing. Word is definitely out and judging by some of the faces, that support slot with New Order the other month might have helped. It’s not immediate though, some of these songs are a bit impenetrable and it’s easy to see who’s seen them play before and those who look a bit shellshocked. Sadly there’s no live drums and I’ll admit it’s the songs where the guitars get strapped on that sound better to me, especially live. Although having a guitar round his neck does root Sydney to the spot more. Without it, he’s able to stalk, prowl, foot on monitor throwing his best punk poses. In truth he’s the only real energy on stage. The rest of the band don’t move. At all. On smaller stages you don’t notice as much, but with room to move here, it feels odd, especially with rhythms as vicious as this. That’s the aesthetic of this band though, dark and moody to the point I’m pretty sure they’d take a mic chord to the neck of anyone who dared rush the stage. It’s a frontline musical assault and they stand defiant. It’s the longest set I’ve seen them play, so there’s plenty to enjoy as the place heats up and the band lock in. That’s what I love about this lot, finding that groove and riding it unapologetically. It’s where they shine as a live act. When they get to ‘Teeth’ at nearly an hour in, the infamous Ritz dance-floor is put to the test as the strobes throw shadows round the room and Sydney surfs the crowd. Then bang that’s it. Band gone. Lights up. Brilliant.