It’s the end of March, and I’m at an all-day gig at a brewery with sunlight shining through, and it made me think – is this the brightest gig venue industrial doom duo Mrs Frighthouse has ever played? So, I asked them.
“Possibly,” says Luna. “We’ll have to see because it looks like the sun is moving, so by the time we’re on stage, it might be the brightest, we might come in second”. We once did a gig where they left the house lights on.”
Carys adds, “It felt really awkward because there’s something about our music that, inherently, makes you all feel a little bit uncomfortable. In a way, I quite like it [the brightly lit room]. One of the things I’ve wanted to do during ‘My Body Is a Crime Scene‘ is turn up the house lights so everyone can see each other and kind of have to deal with how they feel about being confronted. I worry that it would make people think the show had ended and that a mistake had happened, but it was always an idea I had in the back of my head, of increasing the discomfort of that song.”
“This isn’t a horror film-inspired band; we’re singing about real things. All of you feel incredibly uncomfortable. It could work. But yeah, that time they left the house lights on, that time was very hard. They’d introduced it as well with quite a fun speech as well, and then the lights stayed on, and the crowd was absolutely mad with it. I was like, “This isn’t a party!”
They both agree, “It was incredible, I absolutely loved that gig”.
This was my first experience of seeing Mrs Frighthouse live, and on their headlining tour, which began on Sunday, 24th May. I wanted to be able to write a little something about what could be expected in their future shows, with some exclusive insights into what the wives from the dark depths might be offering.
They played as part of the Believe in Nothing ‘Rot‘ all-dayer, a day featuring hardcore, crust punk, math rock, and plenty of doom and sludge metal. This all took place at the Liquid Light Brewery in Nottingham, a fantastic place to go for gigs, beer, and independent events in Nottingham.
While every band on the bill was fantastic, my focus was purely on Mrs Frighthouse.
They begin by setting the stage, delicately laying flowers around the speakers, vocal stand, and keyboard. For the uninitiated, they’re probably being led into a false sense of security. Perfect for the duo. It means they can tear down and rip through all sorts of unassuming and unprepared individuals.
The wives of doom and gloom prepare themselves with their synchronised breathing ritual. I asked them about this
Carys explains, “It was something that our singing teacher told us and she said it was a tip that she uses when performing a duet, which helps to synchronize us. She said before you go on stage, or even if you’re directly next to each other on stage, you sync your breathing. So we breathe and sing until we’re in sync”.
Luna adds, “It sinks our breathing and our heart rates, and takes us to that extra level. We just feel connected and we feel synced up. There’s been the odd time where we’ve not managed to do it because we’ve just been so stressed that everything’s going wrong.”
“It definitely makes a difference. At the start, we’d test it out to see if it had a noticeable effect, and it does. For me, it gets me to think about my breathing and calm it down a bit. But yeah, that’s our pre-gig ritual. It just kind of makes you get a bit mentally in sync with each other.” Carys concludes.
It’s show time. The lights go down, and a small element of red light fills the stage. The sun disappears just enough to create a dark setting that we want to experience this in. Even without their usual unsettling projected videos, they maintain a ghastly and, as planned, discomforting performance that doesn’t suffer as a result.
Seeing this sort of music performed live in front of some massive brewery mash tuns may have had the potential to take the aura away from what Mrs Frighthouse set out to achieve, but their music just sucks you in, compelling you to focus on everything they do, every movement, and intended action.
The power of the music is overwhelming, putting you in a world of hell, just as intended. Luna stalks the stage at times, like a wild animal trapped in a cage about to explode. In contrast, Carys appears more fragile, building and building towards her own outbreak of emotion and anger.
‘My Body is a Crime Scene’ is even more visceral sounding in the live setting. It’s one thing hearing it on record, but hearing it live, as well as visually seeing it performed in front of me, is chilling. Hauntingly chilling. They dedicated the show to 2 friends they lost recently in a lovely monologue from Carys.
40 minutes later, the ceremony is complete. As onlookers, we’ve been decimated. Carys and Luna can now unwind, enjoy the rest of the show, and rest knowing that they’ve gained some new fans and deserved respect.
Featured Image Credit: Believe In Nothing / Photography by the author
