Suoni Per Il Popolo – Eagulls at Casa del Popolo

Eagulls with Bummer
June 19th Casa del Popolo
All photos by Gabe Sigler

While there are no shortage of bands currently aping the sound and style of  70’s-era post-punk, UK’s Eagulls offer much more than a simple retread of the past. The base of their dark sound is definitely influenced by Joy Division and Killing Joke, but their punk leanings always remain at the forefront, offering up a much more abrasive sound than their twee contemporaries.

At the band’s sold-out show at Casa del Popolo for the annual Suoni del Popolo festival, the band ran through the majority of their self-titled debut full-length to a packed and excited crowd. Vocalist George Mitchell twisted and contorted at the edge of the stage, while the rest of the band remained firmly planted at their respective stations, seemingly content to let the propulsive music speak for itself.

Uniformly dressed in a variety of Doc Martens styles, and with a red flood light saturating the stage, Eagulls definitely have the image of a vintage post-punk band down pat, even if their songs are firmly rooted in the present. They closed their set with a frantic run through of their single “Possessed,” before exiting through the crowd (no encore, natch). The band said next to nothing all night, except for pleading for a place to crash for the night, demonstrating that for all their showmanship, Eagulls are definitely still a punk band at heart.

Scroll down for a few other photos form the show, as well as Eagulls’ entire recent set for NPR Music.