emmoworld

Well I know I keep harking on about them, but this is a rare chance to catch the Panama Kings in concert over the coming weeks as they support Dodgy on their UK tour and play a few of their own more intimate ones. I know main London date is sold out but for those up north you can catch them at Moho in Manchester on 28/11, the Attic in Accrington on 29/11 and Barfly in Liverpool on 2/12. If you live in London - tough, although you can see them play a set at Puregroove Records at 6pm on 26/11.

Recent gigs have continued to show these are 4 Belfast lads going places:

The Futureheads, Panama Kings
Island Arts Centre, Lisburn

Between chaos and pattern, between love and ‘fuck you’, between alt-rock guitars and dance rhythms, between post-this and post-that lies the domain of the Panama Kings. It is a realm they rule with absolute authority, tonight’s performance seeing them unfurl a regal procession of almighty tunes. The quartet further asserts their authority by letting loose a triple whammy of impressive new numbers. If any doubters remain they are soon hammered into submission by a pulverising rendition of mclusky’s ‘To Hell With Good Intentions’.

Of one new song, gloriously grumpy frontman Niall Kennedy announces, “I hope you enjoyed that, because I fucking didn’t.” Still, for the audience, this show serves notice of the unbridled potential of the Panama Kings. The vocal fixes your attention like nails dragged across skin, the guitars contort acrobatically, the bass is lithe as a ballerina and the drums are machine-precise and powerful. Songs such as ‘Your Children Are Screaming’ and ‘Toe The Party Line’ swarm with dramatic presence, taut nervousness and outrageous swagger. You don’t have to break your brain to realise the Panama Kings are a band of rare ability.