Future Of The Left – XOYO, London

It's your choice.

Fucking Shoreditch. Waltzing past trust fund kids dressed in Spiderman pyjamas (the irony!) has rarely been so tedious. But a twist and a turn and we’re there, walking down the stairs of XOYO with the final notes of the support ringing out across the crowd.

It’s busy. Future Of The Left only tour sporadically, and they’ve got a new album sat in their back pocket. Stood beside the merch stall, chatting with fans Andy Falkous appears – on the surface, at least – to be the perfect gentlemen before the show.

And of course, when he hits the stage nothing genetically changes – just the circumstances. It’s East London, it’s Future Of The Left and they’ve got a new album out. Fuck you very much, let’s get on with the show.

Pounding into a series of cuts from their opening two albums, Future Of The Left don’t appear to be displaying any nerves. Falko can take care of his own (seriously, is there another frontman equipped with such caustic, barbed wit?) and the new material sounds… fantastic.

‘the plot against common sense’ slots right in amongst the band’s past material, marking them out as one of those rare entities capable of starting at a sprint and then speeding up. In fact, throwing out a couple of McLusky tracks only serves to heighten this: ‘Lightsaber Cocksucking Blues’ possesses plenty of brattish thrills, but then ‘Robocop 4’ comes along with its seething scorn and scorched earth guitars.

Now a four piece, the band are typically tight. Future Of The Left have developed a reputation for, not in a muso way anyway, but for being a truly fucking badass live band. Tonight they demonstrate that clearly: ‘Small Bones Small Bodies’ is an anarchic mixture of controlled chaos while ‘Manchasm’ is all faltering keyboards, blood and sweat.

Leaving without an encore (good – never liked the perverse falsity of the act anyway) Future Of The Left depart with nary a glimpse to the crowd. They don’t need to, really, for that would bely the power of the rock show; they’ve said everything they need to say and if you missed it… tough shit, really. You should’ve been there. Or just buy the record. It’s your choice.

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