Doomsday Outlaw - Plymouth Review

One benefit of living in a city within walking distance of a decent small live music venue is that last-minute gigging decisions can be made. While The Junction in Plymouth might not be the busiest venue in the country, I have spent a number of memorable nights there since moving to the city in 2016. It is one of those venues that occasionally attracts a band that is far too big to play there, as Diamond Head can attest to following their triumphant lockdown-breaking set there last August, but more often than not it hosts up-and-coming hopefuls - who sometimes play to the bar staff and a handful of paying punters. This is certainly part of the touring band experience, however, especially for newer bands - and bands always seem to enjoy visiting The Junction even if the crowd is on the small side. I have taken punts on seeing a handful of relatively unknown bands there over the years, and have largely been impressed. In truth, it is something that I should have done a lot more - and I often tell myself that I should pop up to The Junction more. It was in this spirit, then, that I made the last-minute decision yesterday to make the five or so minute walk from my flat to The Junction to check out Sheffield's Doomsday Outlaw - a five-piece rock band who I was familiar with in name only. They were one of the bands hoovered up by Frontiers Records when they were trying to establish their 'new breed' roster a few years ago, something which seems to have fallen by the wayside recently, and I seem remember them being announced as playing one of the recent iterations of Bloodstock Open Air. I had it in my head, probably from mis-reading a PR statement, that the band were something of a doomy, stoner-esque band - a genre which is largely not my thing. Lots of bands play that sort of style, and I wrongly thought that Doomsday Outlaw were one of the pack. A couple of YouTube videos later, however, proved this thought to be wrong - and I decided to head out to check the band out.

Sadly for Doomsday Outlaw, very few of us made the same decision. I have been to The Junction a few times when it has been largely empty, and it is always a bit awkward - but Doomsday Outlaw did not let it deter them. They played for an hour and certainly grabbed the attention of everyone who had made the effort. There was no support act, so the evening felt quite short, but in truth I would rather have an hour of quality music than having to sit through a couple of average support bands just to make the night seem better value for money. The band played a mix of material from their two albums, as well as a few songs from their upcoming third album. Having read up about the band following the show, it seems that Doomsday Outlaw have undergone a few line-up changes recently - with only frontman Phil Poole and Indy Chanda (bass guitar/vocals) remaining from the line-up of the band that recorded their two albums. I can only judge the band's current line-up, however, and I was really impressed. The band were certainly not a stoner-esque band, but instead reminded me quite a bit of The Black Crowes - albeit perhaps a little grungier. Poole's stage moves and voice reminded me somewhat of Chris Robinson, while the lead guitar efforts of Alez D'Elia added plenty of bluesy vibes throughout. There were plenty of slide and wah-drenched leads peppered throughout the set, while Rowan O'Sullivan (guitar/vocals) held down the rhythms with pin-point precision. I was not really familiar with any of the band's songs before the show, but having acquired a setlist after the show I am able to highlight some favourites. The show kicked off with the newer In Too Deep, but perhaps the song that really made everything click for me was Spirit That Made Me. One More Sip was another highlight, with a darker lyrical side and a memorable chorus. There was, at times, a bit of a southern rock vibe to the band's sound, which fitted the band's Black Crowes-esque aesthetic nicely. Some of the songs were quite anthemic too, with powerful choruses. The older songs tended to take this approach, with Fallback and the catchy Saltwater in particular getting stuck in my head during the evening. Another newer number, Runaway, was also very memorable, but by this point the end of the set was near. A fun cover of The Osmonds' Crazy Horses, with D'Elia's guitar replacing the theremin, allowed the band to let their hair down a little, before Bring You Pain brought the set to a powerful close with plenty more soloing and some busy drum work from Nic Rudd. I do not think that the band had planned to play an encore, but the small crowd persuaded them to do one more - and the title track of their second album Hard Times, with its big riffs and bluesy slide work, proved to be an excellent added bonus. The setlist was:

In Too Deep

On My Way

Spirit That Made Me

One More Sip

This is the End

Fallback

Saltwater

Turn Me Loose

All That I Have

Runaway

Crazy Horses [The Osmonds cover]

Bring You Pain

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Hard Times

Despite the poor turnout, which must always be disheartening for bands that have made the effort to travel down to Plymouth, I had a really great time with Doomsday Outlaw at The Junction. All of the band's songs were really enjoyable, and their bluesy hard rock is the sort of thing that I generally really like. I purchased both of the band's albums after their set, and I look forward to listening to those properly in due course. On the strength of the new songs played too, I am looking forward to hearing the band's third album - which is supposed to be released at some point this year. I will pick up a copy when it is released, and I hope to catch the band live again in the future.