Gig Review: Kim Jennett / Not Now Norman / retsecroW(s) – The Giffard Arms, Wolverhampton (2nd October 2024)

It’s been a few weeks since firebrand Kim Jennett released her new single, “Hell is Wherever You Are” along with its accompanying video and right now, she and her band are out on tour across the UK and Ireland ing Geoff Tate. However, tonight has Jennett in Wolverhampton’s Giffard Arms for a headline show to fill a gap in the touring schedule, just a few days before she’s back in the Midlands with Tate in Birmingham.

By the time I’m walking into the Giff’s venue space, opening band retsecroW(s) – Worcester spelled backwards (three guesses where they hail from) – are kicking off their set with the opening strains of “Enter Sandman”. What I can hear is great, doing the Metallica classic justice and whoever is on drums can do it better than Lars (not that it’s hard). But when I actually enter the room, I see four kids, properly going for it. And whilst none of them may be old enough to drive a car (singer/guitarist Luca would actually celebrate making it to the teens a couple of days later), they certainly know how to play their instruments and know how to play as a unit. This isn’t just “good enough for your high school talent competition”, this is good enough to justify them being out on the circuit playing real venues.

With a number of covers, many of which you can expect your local pub tribute bands to play, such as “Paranoid”, “Breaking the Law”, “Dakota” and “Creep”, it’s the last two where they properly rough them up and make them their own whilst the metal staples are played with reverence and ion. Indeed, their version of “Creep” is somehow darker and moodier. Meanwhile, their few originals “Maniac”, “Grief of Me” which currently sits with 7.5k streams on Spotify, and “Blood Sea” all channel early Metallica, NWOBHM and Deep Purple. There’s also plenty of thanks given between songs, shoutouts to the other acts and the venue and plugging their online presence – despite their tender age, they know how to do it. With some excellent duelling guitars, rude bass playing and dynamic drumming, they’re already a force to be reckoned with. Give them five years and they’ll be absolute monsters.

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Having caught a couple of songs from Not Now Norman at Call of the Wild this year, I was intrigued and looking forward to seeing more from them. Needless to say, that anticipation is well warranted as they work with a hard rock foundation but work in elements of alternative and punk with a pop sheen without being too stylised about it. Whilst putting them in one box would be a hard thing to do, it seems by design without pretension. They deliver a riveting set with everyone’s eyes glued to them with their set of originals. Well-executed with pristine polish, they know how to work the crowd, anchored by frontwoman Taylor-Grace. Many of her lyrics are relatable but perhaps the highlight is the pettiness of “Shut Your Mouth” which she explains is about an ex-partner whom she then spoke to a number of his ex-partners, included them in a music video for said song, then sang the song at his favourite venue. That’s how you get revenge.

There’s not much space to work with but the band know how to utilise it, instead keeping to their spots whilst Taylor-Grace makes the most of the remainder. Her vocals spar with her dad on guitar, vibrant riffs flowing from him with ease. Having previously heard from others how good Zander Brown’s work is on the six strings, it’s fair to say the hype is justified. With the energy of a six-year-old who’s been given his first coffee, he’s bursting at the seams whilst delivering a masterclass on how to handle a guitar. They’ve got a good chunk of time to work with so it allows each song to breathe and most of them to receive a little insight before they blast through it. Which is exactly what they do as there aren’t many slower numbers in the set, instead focusing on upbeat, swinging hard rock complete with fat bass lines and thumping drums. As a unit, they’re absolutely solid and would be a great fit to a band along the lines of The Pretty Reckless. If they’re ever back in the Midlands, I’ll be there to see them.

It’s not long before Paul White (drums), Mart Trail (bass) and Chris Charles (guitar), take to the stage as they rev up the intro for “Let Me Be the One” before Kim Jennett herself, right on cue for her first vocals, bursts from the wings, a ball of energy which doesn’t dull for the dozen or so songs she and her band have for the assembled audience. There’s an equal focus on her collaborations with Myke Gray and her new solo era and whilst the latter may be a bit more alternative and punk-y with a bit of pop thrown in for good measure and, ultimately, modern, they all blend together into one cohesive sound.

You can tell Jennett lives to perform in front of an audience, as does her band, and there’s a real sense of camaraderie and chemistry – these guys aren’t just hired guns. Jennett addresses the crowd like an old friend and the vibe is very much like we’re in her living room for a cuppa and a catch-up. In actual fact, she’s got shit lager (she its to liking piss like the Carling she sups from) for herself but incredible vocals to share with everyone in the room. And while she may be small in stature, her performance makes her look ten feet tall, towering above even the tallest of people in the room. There’s naturally the comparison to Lzzy Hale with her gritty vocals and screams, backed up by songs like the aforementioned “Let Me Be the One”, alongside the “Psycho” and the dark and dangerous “Love’s Like Suicide”.

However, it’s the new material of her own she previews which is the highlight but they only get to that after running through some older stuff to get people comfortable and a round of “Happy Birthday” to Trail. And where better to spend it than performing to a crowd of revelling rock fans? New number “Blood Killer Floor” has a slow, sultry opening before it ramps up but it manages to keep the sultriness for something twisted with danger lurking below the surface. Meanwhile, “Devil” has some of the filthiest bass you’ll hear and “Dead to Me” is full-on aggression but all three of those songs are sleek and modern, showing Jennett’s new direction and that her vocals are well-suited to any part of the rock and metal spectrum. Whilst she’s never put out bad music, this new material is far more edgy, vibrant and belonging to the 2020s.

There’s also a cover of “Counts for Nothing” from Red White & Blues, the only “slow” number of the set where Jennett straps on a guitar, her delivery paired with the confessional and vulnerable lyrics allow for a spine-tingling few minutes. And for a finale, you can’t go better than the debut single “Hell is Wherever You Are” followed by covers of “Immigrant Song” and “Bulls on Parade”. Both are high-octane moments and those two classics combined form so much of the DNA of the debut single. It allows Jennett to throw everything in her arsenal into that final ten minutes, her vocals owning those songs as if they were her own. Charles, Trail and White make an excellent unit for her to anchor her voice to with riffs flying off the six strings with ease, bass chunkier than a hearty winter soup and, as I’ve said every time I’ve seen White, he puts Animal to shame.

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There’s a level of authenticity in Jennett and her band that you only see in the best. It can’t be bought, sold, taught or replicated. It simply is. Armed with a voice with enough power to stop bullets in their tracks and knowing how to perform with it, she deserves to be playing to much bigger crowds. And if she continues like this, it won’t be long until that comes to fruition.

Header image by Adam Kennedy

Kim Jennett: official | facebook | instagram | spotify | youtube

Not Now Norman: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube

retsecroW(s): official | facebook | twitter | instagram