It feels like the world of alternative music may be healing.
What was just your average Thursday in Birmingham had a much more profound meaning by the end of the night as East Midlands alt/indie rockers Mouth Culture look like a band that could be taking everything back to its roots. Across the summer, the Leicester-based trio took themselves off to Slam Dunk, Reading/Leeds and Burn It Down and as autumn took hold they picked up Beauty School and made their way across the country.
As an opener, Beauty School made complete sense. Their vibes are similar and it is clear from how early the masses have shown up that there’s more than a passing interest in this support act. The band had a lot to prove and not much space to do it in, with six band members adorning a stage that comfortably fits four. Still, they made do with the cramped conditions by having frontman Joe Cabrera doing everything from joining the front row to having a little lie down. Tracks like ‘Oak’ and ‘Pawn Shop Jewels’ proving their chops. With a tour of their own in early 2026, this felt like an audition that they passed with flying colours. Expect to see a lot more of these.
Despite filling up early, the room didn’t truly start to buzz until it approached Mouth Culture time. People chatted and the anticipation grew until the lights went down and the instantly recognisable “Sharkbait ooh ha ha” sample entered the room. From here, instead of everyone whipping out their phones to record, they merely cheered, clapped and dropped a few ‘woos’. In a crowd that was dominated by the under 30s, a group often maligned for their compulsion to record everything, this evening felt as ‘off grid’ as you can get without going full ‘Tobias Forge’. Of course people recorded, but it was snippets instead of full songs. People were living in the moment.
Now, Mouth Culture aren’t a band with an extensive catalogue, so when they opened with ‘Sharkbait’ into ‘Dead In Love’, it felt like they may have gone too early. That worry was entirely unfounded as they sauntered through 16 songs that took us through almost their entire discography. Only ‘Honey’ felt like it was missing, though it seems like that has been left to hibernate in 2024 for now. Such is the measure of what the band are building, even the unreleased ‘On and On’ had people singing along as if it were an old favourite.
In a set that was almost all highlights, it’s clear that ’15 Missed Calls’ is the quintessential Mouth Culture song. Frontman Jack Voss acknowledged that it was time for “that song” and immediately fans new and old whipped out their torches as the atmosphere changed. This intense ballad is only a few minutes long, but in those moments nothing existed except the band and their fans.
As ‘Ratbag’ closed out the set and fans poured intro the street, it was clear that this room wasn’t going to be big enough for Mouth Culture going forwards. Every new song, every live show and every social media post shows the kind of organic growth that will have them speeding towards the top tier of British music. Something that couldn’t happen to nicer people.
