Scotland’s Vukovi (w/ Zand) Unleash their Energy and Chaos at Manchester Academy 3 [Photos]

Zand is an intriguing mystical creature, resplendent with green eyebrows, tons of tatts and little dragon wings as they take the stage swinging a baseball bat. Slightly menacing, slightly seductive and completely engaging.

They call their brand of music “ugly pop,” which both kind of suits the style and doesn’t do it anywhere near enough justice. There’s something beautiful about a song called “Religion,” whose lyrics are blatantly about gay sex and ends with some fantastic demonic screaming.

Bar a technical glitch with the backing track towards the end of the set, when a fan on the barrier heroically saved the day by having a spare aux cable on him, the set was an absolute riot. “I eat boys like you” and “fuck you, pay me” were key lyrics that remained lodged in the brain even the day after. Zand was a really enjoyable experience, and they will be well and truly on the radar from now on for future shows.

Vukovi (Croatian for Wolves) is made up of a drummer and two Tasmanian devils, Hamish on guitar and Janine on vocals. Whirling about in the shadows, they create a sense of danger and intensity with openers “Lasso” and “C.L.A.U.D.I.A.” There were no lights on them, so all we saw were shadowy figures prowling around the stage – which was extremely irritating and annoying; especially when Janine was interacting with the audience, it would have been nice to be able to see any kind of expression from the stage.

With a bouquet of flowers being presented to Janine to pass to the drummer, much to her chagrin, it’s clear to see the amount of love shared by band and audience.

The crowd sings along to everything, and with a hefty amount of the set being taken from their latest release NULA (read our album review here), which had only been out for a week or so, Vukovi fans seem like some of the most dedicated around.

If you get off on energy and chaos, then this is definitely the band for you.

Vukvoi (w/ Zand) @ Academy 3 (Manchester, UK) on October 15, 2022

33 photos