King Tuts hosted Australian bands, Sex Mask and headliners Radio Free Alice to play an intimate show on the 20th of November.
Opening the night we had the punk band Sex Mask to ease us into the set at 8pm. Sweetly reminiscing on their last visit to Glasgow, they opened the night by letting the crowd know that they were in fact “back for vengeance,” with his top off and launching himself into the crowd.
Originally from Sydney, Radio Free Alice have been making serious waves lately with their rise of popularity in the surf-rock scene. Their status has speedily disseminated, which has lead the 4-piece band to gain their spot at the top festivals beginning next year. Their sound is a blend of Joy Division’s rhythmic emphasis with hints of The Strokes, through lead singer Noah’s yearning vocals. Despite these key influences, they portray a distinctive personality and edge that I haven’t quite seen before.
The stars of the night made their debut at 9pm to Juice Newton’s ‘Angel Of The Morning,’ going straight into ‘Empty Words’, a single released in 2023 that became the title track of the 2025 EP. The floor was near to caving in with how much they had the crowd moving. Noah described the scene by ending the tune remarking, “these crazy Glaswegians.”
For a band who already boast such a formidable stage presence, this comment along with a subsequent remark of Noah’s: “we’re from Australia what the ****,” were endearing and exciting reminders that we are witnessing a band who are still relatively fresh to the scene but nevertheless have so much potential in the growing genre of shoe-gaze style indie rock.
Flying into EP Polyester, ‘Spain’ and ‘On The Ground’ are fast and fun anthems that roared through the crowd, high energy and low tempos, in between choruses and verses, displaying their range and exceptional talent. Transitioning into a slower pace, they filled the room with the captivating guitar riffs in ‘Chinese Restaurant’ from their EP released just this August and the mellow guitar in ‘2010’, arguably one of their most emotionally raw songs. The lyric “I haven’t said a thing since 2010” is a vulnerable peek into the window of Noah’s notions. It suggests he misses the authenticity and freedom of the thoughts and conversations attainable in the early stages of adolescence, without the burdens of pressure or expectation that come with age. The frustrated cadence in the delivery of the vocals alongside the drawn out, pining guitar chords had the draw to immerse King Tuts for three minutes into the bitter sweet spectacle that Radio Free Alice created with ‘2010’.
With each tune that they played, it was so refreshing to see how the crowd immediately matched the tone of each of their tracks, the atmosphere was so heavy. The audience was immediately switched on and ready for each tune to play, these special moments were memorable highlights to take away from the set.
Making their reappearance on stage for one more song, they covered ‘Damaged Goods’ by Gang of Four. This cover blended seamlessly into their sound and if you hadn’t heard this before, you would think it was their own song, with how much charisma and confidence they carried during the rendition.
Having the chance to see the band embrace the King Tuts stage was an invaluable experience, especially when they are on the road to such great success. The band have recently finished up their tour across the UK but are set to perform at a number of festivals next year, which won’t be ones to miss. Keep up to date with their next shows on their instagram below.
https://www.instagram.com/radiofreealiceband?igsh=aThoYm9uamFyM2Vk