Live Review: Puppy at Independence Festival, UK
If Wheatus and Rage Against the Machine were to have a musical child, their offspring would be London based trio Puppy.
While Puppy’s music is classified at ‘heavy metal’ on Facebook, the high soaring pop-punk vocals beg to differ. The disconnection continues with their nerdy hipster image – the too-short jeans, untucked button-down and baseball cap, all topped off with a bushy bearded vocalist.
They’re performing first on Lennon’s small club stage for Independence Festival with an almost non-existent crowd. Those who are standing awkwardly around the room don’t seem to know whether to head bang or pull out their lighters.
Puppy plays songs from their self-titled debut EP during the short set which are all technically sound, they’re actually very talented, but there are abrupt changes between styles. The heavy breakdowns and soft poppy verses are just plain weird. The drummer is hardcore going for it, pretending he really is in a ‘metal’ band, but Puppy is just trying too hard to be something they’re not.
