On The Scene: XP 20-08-2013

You know you’re doing pretty good if you can pack XP, on a Tuesday night, in the rain, hours before you have a flight to Mother Russia. None of this seemed to phase P.K.14, as they blazed though a set of new stuff off of their latest, much buzzed about, release 1984 as well as some old favorites. While this was the first time a lot of their new tracks were played live, the band was in top form – intense, urgent, and engaging.

Welcome back P.K.14. Welcome back. Check more below from the hard-hitting post punk outfit.

Though I vaguely recall seeing P.K.14 back in my early days, when crowd surfing was at the top of my priorities, this was my first real introduction to them. P.K.14 simply put, are a beast of a band.

A juggernaut of ideas, tension, mood, speared across ferocious yet beautiful compositions. Not one ounce of fat on these boys. They go for the kill every time.

Yang Haisong is an animal on stage – lanky, impatient, enraged, and weary, he clamors about like a man who’s fighting with the gods. Lyrically, it’s weighty stuff. Cryptic, poetic, with a ton of bite. Musically, it’s lush, complex, without ever trying to stand out – the perfect complement to Yang Haisong’s pleas.

It seems the time in the studio hasn’t bogged them down the slightest – not one moment did they let up. Everyone was on tearing it up, relishing every note, chord, and beat – even coming out after for an encore right before they headed off onto their thirty-plus city tour. Now that’s showmanship.

Looks like it’s gonna be quite the fall for P.K.14 – scratch that, quite the year. Best of luck, boys. Here\’s one last oldie for the road.