Marisa and the Moths - Plymouth Review

Despite getting to between 40 and 50 gigs most years in recent times, I still do not think that I fully make the most of some of the music venues which are within walking distance of where I live. I have certainly been to plenty of shows at both The Junction and the Underground in Plymouth - but probably not as many as I should. In fairness, I cannot go out every night - but nevertheless there have been 'named' bands that have come through that I have not checked out, and I keep thinking that I should be making more of an effort. Despite this, though, I have still 'made the effort' quite a few times - and last night I made the short walk up to The Junction to check out the Reading-based four-piece Marisa and the Moths, a grungy hard rock band that are currently starting to make some waves on the UK music scene. Despite the band forming back in 2017, I was not aware of them until last year - when The Junction announced that they would be playing at the venue. I do pay attention sometimes it seems, and I decided to check them out - and heard enough that I liked to pick up a ticket. I have since picked up both of the band's albums, their self-titled debut from 2019 and What Doesn't Kill You (which I briefly discussed here) from 2024, and have generally enjoyed both - although I think the latter is quite a big step up compared to the former. The band are not exactly doing anything especially original, and they sit firmly in the current UK post-grunge-influenced hard rock scene, but frontwoman Marisa Rodriguez's powerful and soulful voice does help to set them apart from other similar acts. I have warmed to parts of this scene over the years - but I would rather that the current UK rock scene was not dominated by so many American radio rock-influenced bands. Bands like Stone Broken and The Fallen State cut through, but there are many which leave me cold - so Marisa and the Moths having something of a USP with their soulful side really helps. In truth, many of these bands are really starting to find success now, with Those Damn Crows coming to Plymouth later in the year to play a venue much larger than The Junction, but I do hope that the UK's love of this slightly dated American sound starts to wane soon. There is a reason why South of Salem are my favourite of the current crop of rising stars - and that is because there is no grunge to be seen. Returning to Marisa and the Moths, though, the songwriting is strong and their soulful side helps to balance out the post-grunge influence - so I was looking forward to seeing what they would be like live. Over the past couple of months or so, the band have been undertaking a lengthy UK headline tour to support What Doesn't Kill You. This tour seemed to cover essentially every inch of the UK - with the band really getting out there and pushing their music. Last night's show in Plymouth was the last night of the tour - and it capped off a weekend of shows in the South West, with gigs in Exeter and Bideford immediately preceding Plymouth. With the tour coming to the end, then, the band were in high spirits - and a pretty healthy turnout helped to ensure a good night.

Before Marisa and the Moths' set, though, the growing crowd was treated to a, mercifully, short set from punk band James Kennedy and the Underdogs. From doing a quick bit of research, it seems that Kennedy has been knocking around on the scene for a while, both as a solo artist and as a member of Kyshera, but his 30 or so minutes on stage last night did nothing to convince me to delve into his back catalogue. I am not the biggest punk fan at the best of times, but Kennedy's brand of punk was some of the most rote I had heard for a while - and felt extremely uninspiring and lacking in any substance, despite his band being energetic. Basic riffs, leaden drumming, and lyrics which some might generously refer to as 'socially conscious' (although they essentially were just a shopping list of left-leaning clichés with no nuance) all added up to a pretty forgettable set that thankfully did not outstay its welcome for too long. Whilst a few seemed to be somewhat into what Kennedy was doing, I am not sure that I would describe the reception as rapturous. He did try hard to get people involved, and a few obliged, but I think that quite a lot of people were left rather non-plussed by his set - so by the end it all felt rather try-hard. Not many were 'doing their crazy thing' when Kennedy asked for such - and I think this lack of going crazy rather sums up my views relating to his set.

Following a pretty quick changeover, the lights in the venue, which was pretty full by this point, went down and Rodriguez took to the stage with her band for what was to be a powerful set. Most young bands tend to play for around an hour these days, but Marisa and the Moths played for around 90 minutes - with much of What Doesn't Kill You featured - alongside cuts from their debut album and some other inclusions. Without regular guitarist Alez D'Alia for the shows this weekend, former Jagged Edge and Skin guitarist Myke Gray accompanied the band. This was a strange mix of styles, as Gray is very much a meat and potatoes hard rock guitarist, but he added some fluid solos to the evening - although Rodriguez was the star of the night, her voice cutting through the mix nicely. The overall sound mix was good, too. Everything could be heard clearly - with the vocals powering through and the guitar solos also feeling tight. Despite the set focusing on the new album, two older cuts in Needy and Skin kicked things off. Generally the set was pretty hard rocking, but Needy opened at a more sedate pace before rocking a little harder - and the set really seemed to kick off with the anthemic Skin and its powerful chorus. Rodriguez is a great frontwoman and covered every each of the small stage with ease. She played a lot of guitar during the set, too, including a few solos, but sometimes she shed the guitar to operate with a little more freedom. She also had a lot to say, and spoke to the crowd between nearly every song - often telling little stories relating to the upcoming song and just generally engaging in banter with the crowd. She came across as a very likable presence and her voice was arguably more powerful live than it is on record - whilst bassist Liam Barnes added some harmonies here and there. Early in the set the crowd were treated to big numbers like Get It Off My Chest and the snappy Fake It Till You Make It - and the band operated at their best when they rock out the hardest. The middle the show shook things up a little, with Barnes taking the lead on his composition Porch to give Rodriguez a brief break - before the latter returned armed with an acoustic guitar for a laid back rendition of non-album track If You Knew. Sadly a few talkers at the bar robbed this moment of its full power but it was nevertheless an enjoyable part of the set - before the rest of the band returned for hard rocking version of Gaslight and Devil, which saw Barnes rocking out in the crowd. Everything at this point was pretty upbeat and rocking - with each song receiving a strong reception from the crowd, who were really up for the show by this point. Choke and Just Like Me all proved to be late set highlights, but it was perhaps the closing anthem Who Are You Waiting For? which proved to be the biggest sing-a-long of the night - and it brought a powerful set to a hard rocking end. The setlist was:

Needy

Skin

Pedestal

69

Get It Off My Chest

Wither Away

Fake It Till You Make It

Borderline

Porch [Liam Barnes solo material w/ Dave Burman]

If You Knew

Gaslight

Devil

Slave

Choke

SAD

Just Like Me

Who Are You Waiting For?

Marisa and the Moths certainly brought their lengthy UK tour to a powerful close in Plymouth last night - and it was also good to see the band attract such a healthy crowd. There was a lot of love in the room for the band, with plenty of singing along, and it sees that Marisa and the Moths could well be on the rise. It will be interesting to see where they go from here, particularly on their next album, and I look forward to what is to come.