What a way to close out King Tuts Summer Nights than to have local lads Anchor Lane put on an energetic headline set to celebrate their ten years of being a band.
With performances from three of the most exciting up and coming bands in Scotland at the moment this was a night not to be missed. Openers Human Renegade delivered emo tinged, in your face alt rock, while Faeda (previously Forgetting The Future) gave a lively indie rock performance and headliners Anchor Lane finished off with their infectious rock show.
Human Renegade are a band that appear to be going from strength to strength at the minute. Dipping more into a pop sound with their most recent single ‘Sedatives’ I expected them to maybe take things down a bit in their show too, but I was wrong. The four-piece have somehow gotten louder, more polished and even a bit heavier since the last time I saw them. Their set even featured the previously mentioned new track which comes across more like a pop-punk piece in a live setting. The bands high-intensity performance had even the people in the crowd wearing Anchor Lane shirts, who clearly had never heard of Human Renegade bopping their heads. As always seems to be the case with these guys typical fan favourites ‘Emo’ and the unreleased ‘Under Fallen Skies’ 100% got the crowd warmed up for the rest of the night.
As if the room wasn’t buzzing enough already Faeda injected even more energy into the night. This was the bands last performance under their previous name Forgetting The Future which they have gone under for the past five years. The group from Thurso have been rapidly gaining attention for not only their catchy tracks but unforgettable live show. This is a band that I really don’t think know how to stand still as they are always bouncing about the stage, and this seemed even more true at King Tuts. I don’t think there was a moment throughout the bands set where there wasn’t at least one group in the crowd shouting the words back. Basically, the second they took over that stage the room was bouncing with everyone even giving their all for unreleased tracks that haven’t been heard before.
As I mentioned before this was a night to celebrate for Anchor Lane, with a few line-up changes over the years the current trio are breathing a guitar driven energetic rock sound into the Anchor Lane name. Feeling a little grittier and a smidge heavier since the addition of their new guitarist I actually think that Anchor Lane could have reached their best sound yet. Treating fans to new song ‘Six Foot, Six Pack, Sigma’ (try and say that fast) alongside other unreleased material felt like a first real look into the new era of the band and I have to say that I am very excited for it. Playing mainly tracks off of their popular 2023 album ‘Call This A Reality?’ with a few oldies sprinkled in we all got to bring in the end of these Summer Nights by shouting along with catchy lyrics, chanting, dancing and even a little headbanging here and there. I’m lucky to have seen this band loads over the years and like every time before this show has only made me want to see them again.
I said it at the start, and I’ll say it again, what a way to close out the King Tuts Summer Nights. If any of these bands aren’t on your radar yet they should be.