Pyncher are Mancunion risers – they’ve spent years grafting, supporting and building a hardcore cult following of local fans. The last 12 months have seen issues with labels and licensing, songs coming off of streaming services and turmoil in the band’s off-stage work: this evening, they take to their hometown, bigger, bolder and reborn.
“Has anyone got a kick pedal?” Sam Blakely is reckoning with technical issues on behalf of his drummer, the spectacularly named Jack Rainbow, “No, seriously, have you?” We’re three or four songs into their triumphant homecoming, a few weeks after a gargantuan comeback single in the shape of ‘Get Along’. Blakley offers t-shirts to anyone who can provide a mythic kick-pedal but throws a few into the crowd for good measure anyway.
Pyncher rattle through tune after tune – some old favourites, some new material, all of which is gargantuan in its noise: they have this knack of weaving Beatles-esque melodies, and profound McCartney-style chord changes over gargantuan rhythm parts and eerie synth. The end product is quite astonishing: old-school pop hooks are drenched in fuzz and overdrive, overlaid with Blakely’s brilliant vocal parts. They achieve that industrial, end-of-the-world style noise with aplomb: they are a band who might fall under the tired moniker of ‘post-punk’, but it feels like Pyncher are throwing everything at evading such lazy labelling.
A couple of songs later, and a few more t-shirts launched, a kick pedal is passed over the crowd, from the sound desk. It feels like almost everyone in the room has a turn at handling the lesser-seen bit of kit before it reaches the band on stage. Moments like this are so utterly charming – something like this would never, ever happen at the Co-Op Live. As the pedal is passed from hand to hand, making its slow journey to the drum kit, the romance that bleeds out of nights like this is so prevalent. It’s a wonderful moment that utterly encapsulates how special the local scene is, and how important it is to see risers like Pyncher.
The band are relentless, their new, synthy material is top-drawer, and they show all the signs of a band primed for the big time. Their sound has grown, evolved and matured: Pyncher are on the rise, and soon enough , it will be impossible to see them in rooms so intimate.
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