LIVE REVIEW ALTERNATIV EGRUNGE LIVE

A Saturday night in Nottingham is always vibrant, whether you’re hitting the town for the bars and clubs or, in this particular case, making your way into one of their independent venues for an evening of great music and cheap pints before 8pm. GREG PUCIATO is a man who has graced stages in the UK on many occasions, from his tours with the frenetic THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, his more electronic-inspired supergroup THE BLACK QUEEN or, most recently, with the majority of the band formerly known as EVERY TIME I DIE in the most excellent BETTER LOVERS. However, tonight is his first ever tour of these shores billed as just him, which makes things all the more special.

Trace Amount live @ Rescue Rooms, Nottingham. Photo Credit: Abbi Draper-Scott

Opening his shows is TRACE AMOUNT, the one man project conceived by Brooklyn-based producer, vocalist and visual artist Brandon Gallagher. There are four elements to his set – one man, one microphone, one sound/sample board and one drum pad. His wares? A potent blend of industrial, cybergoth, darkwave and aggrotech – think COMBICHRIST combined with AUTHOR & PUNISHER and the heavy end of early THE PRODIGY. It’s intense and unsettling, helped out by the abrasive light production: largely strobes and bright, white spots, they are very complimentary to the aural assault that’s happening, aiming – and succeeding – to disorientate those who have turned out to see this one-man project bound about an otherwise empty stage and bring his creations to life. Nobody in the audience is falling over themselves, but there’s nothing even remotely negative in response either; overall a good half hour set.

Rating: 7/10Greg Puciato live @ Rescue Rooms, Nottingham. Photo Credit: Abbi Draper-Scott

GREG PUCIATO, of course, needs little to no introduction. Walking out in a shirt, tank top and three-quarter length, faux leather trousers which – well, they’re a choice – he immediately transforms into the rampant ball of chaotic energy he was known for when fronting DILLINGER as opening song Force Fed opens what turns into a bruising seventy minute set. However, it’s definitely harnessed chaos: at no point is Greg out of control or unsafe with his actions or movements, which makes his energy and presence all the more encapsulating. He’s occasionally a little hard to understand in between songs, but he’s otherwise exactly who we know him to be: a very likeable fella, albeit one who will scream into a microphone a few moments later.

The bulk of his material comes from 2020 release Child Soldier: Creator Of God, ably supported by his 2022 record Mirrocell and FC5N, a surprise release EP at the beginning of the year. Highlights are plentiful, but its hard to overlook the crushing power of Do You Need Me to Remind You? and the raucous power of No More Lives To Go. He’s also brought along an exceptional backing band, describing them as a “bunch of good mates…except Jeff the bassist, he’s basically the mascot at this point”. Then, just when we think he’s done for the night, a curveball of the highest proportions. “This was written by one of my friends,” explains Greg. “He’s called Jerry Cantrell; this is Them Bones“. Needless to say, he nails it, throwing himself into the crowd with that reckless abandon we love him for. Job well done.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Nottingham from Abbi Draper-Scott here:
























































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INTRODUCING: Gauze Is

So few bands have the strength of sound to carry the allure of enigma. Shrouded in mystery, GAUZE IS dropped their debut album Colors of Revenge on Christmas Day – a multifaceted gift of melancholy synths and bombastic aggression. With no knowing who they are, or where they’re even based, we caught up with them about their bold first steps into the scene.



Firstly, we couldn’t help but ask, just who are they? “GAUZE IS is whoever or whatever you want us to be,” they reply. “However, the shapes that comprise this project currently go by the names The Swan, The Scorpion, and The Frame. The idea of GAUZE IS has been in the making for the better part of five years now but wasn’t truly born till the pandemic started.”

The record has a mature and established feel, making it feels less like a debut and more like a fluid, confident array of songs from a band that’s well established. “You have your entire life to write your first record,” they point out, “and now that ours has finally been given to the world we couldn’t be more proud. Personally, it’s one of the biggest accomplishments of my life.”

There’s a plethora of sounds ranging from DEFTONES to NINE INCH NAILS. there’s a brooding that interlaces with GAUZE IS’ menacing edge. “To list all the bands and artists that have influenced this project would be an endeavour in itself,” they ponder. “Granted, there are a few bands that when listening to some of the songs on this record you can definitely see where we drew inspiration from. We all have fairly similar taste in music with a few one offs for each of us that we bring to the table when writing. Some deeper lore about us is that we have been doing this [playing music together] far before GAUZE IS was ever a thought. So we really have focused in on each other’s writing styles.”


A record of bitterness, sorrow and rage, it’s beautifully morose at times while at others much more assertive. This weaving of narratives throughout the record was a murky discovery experience. “I knew that there was going to be a general idea behind what Colors Of Revenge was going to be but couldn’t see what the full picture was,” they recall. “The record would then get twisted and turned in ways I wouldn’t have thought about without some new sound being created with all the electronic stuff we used or a guitar riff being run through a multitude of pedals or a lyric that I had written years ago that didn’t have a place then but found its home on Colors Of Revenge and would end up helping push the idea further.”

The writing process with a birthing of struggles, the songs being as unconventional, and unruly, as their creators. “Honestly, I don’t think there was a way of knowing if the songs had the balance needed to sign off on it. Many nights were spent staying up beating my head against the wall trying to figure out if the song could make it out of production hell and actually be good enough to release. Luckily, I have these two to fall back on and get an honest opinion from. Then when it got to a point of ‘okay, this is the best we can do at this juncture’, I would feel comfortable enough to work with our producer who would then help the songs be realized to its fullest potential.”

On the flipside, once the songs were tamed and the three piece has the basis for what the songs could form, the experimentation was rewarding. “That was my favourite part about this record and trying to figure out what would work. I spent what feels like the entire time working on this record trying to find the right ‘sound’ for each song and then just continuing to build off one sound after another. The songs went through so many adaptations before they reached the point they are at now, from just experimenting with different synths and effects.”

The resulting record is a bold and expressive first release, one that GAUZE IS can be satisfied with, that their blooming fanbase has gobbled up. The hunger for this record feels like big things are on the horizon. “I’m proud of all the work done for Colors Of Revenge. Each song has something on it that I can look at and think to myself ‘I can’t believe we figured out how to make that work. Are we really going to get away with this?’. Lyrically speaking though, Wounds Will Heal is probably the one that is the most important to me. We are hoping that here in the coming months the record will be played to a live audience. I’m dying to play shows again.”

Colors Of Revenge is out now via self-release.

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