There seems to be a small scene emerging amongst Sheffield’s grey buildings, industrial estates, pubs and bars. A scene kept alive and moving by the power of students at both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University. A collection of bands and artists who are unrelenting in their ambition to make music and gig as much as possible. Bands such as Neil Young-inspired rock outfit Meridian, alt-folk “whimsy sleaze” collective Kizmet Again and art rock group Goat House Bridge are all examples of groups formed from the university, who are filling up the bills of venues such as the Washington, Sidney and Matilda, and, the venue where this article takes place, Alder Bar in Kelham.
The Boiling Overs are a somewhat recent addition to this ever-growing list of student bands, and immediately they have become stuck in to performing and composing. In June, the band played their first ever gig at Shamlines, a show hosted by the University of Sheffield’s music culture society. I was back at home for this show, and the day after I was bombarded with a mass of text messages telling me how much I’d enjoy their sound. I was unfortunately not able to make their second gig, opening for Five Over at Sidney and Matilda, and so the anticipation of hearing their sound grew ever more intense. So, when they announced their headline at Alder Bar, I cleared out my calendar for that day and bought tickets. What made this show even more appealing was the announced support act being Grace Kolter, a fellow student at the University of Sheffield who has earned quite the reputation as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist of Kizmet Again. As a big fan of both folk music and post-punk, this was already shaping up to be a great show.
I arrived fairly early to Alder, which never fails to wow me as a venue. The main room is spacious and features a well-placed stage, which is adorned with instruments and The Boiling Overs’ homemade banner, hung over the drum set. A few days previously, an intimate gig was hosted at Hallamshire Hotel in Crookesmoore, featuring a headline set from Grace Kolter and an acoustic set from Lewis Seal of the Boiling Overs, in which a selection of Boiling Overs songs were played. I was looking forward to how the songs sounded with full-band backing.
An evening of noisy, danceable post-punk was to come, but first, the lights dimmed and the room went silent as Grace took the stage with an acoustic guitar and went straight into her set, a cover of Nick Drake’s “Place to Be”. Instantly, the crowd was transfixed. Grace pays tribute to Nick Drake in such a beautiful and careful way that you can just tell the respect that she holds for his artistry. 
Indeed, after Grace had finished the cover and the crowd had applauded, in true Nick Drake fashion, she spent some time re-tuning before starting on her original pieces. Alternating between guitar and mandolin, Grace stays true to folk music roots, weaving mythical storytelling with carefully fingerpicked melodies, featuring concepts such as a love song between the moon and the sea, my personal favourite of her original selection. Closing with a cover of Elliott Smith’s ‘Clementine’, the show felt like a history of singer-songwriter music, of which Grace is very worthy of being added to the timeline. Fans of Joni Mitchell, Joanna Newsom and Fairport Convention, I urge you to go and see Grace live.
After such an intimate and atmospheric set, in the middle of which Grace had cracked a joke about the contrast between her music and that of the Boiling Overs’, a few pints were downed and the crowd shuffled back into the main room for the long-awaited main act of the night. The Boiling Overs launched straight into their set, with bassist Donovan laying down a thumping and melodic groove coupled with the intense and unstoppable drumming of drummer Polly. On top of this formidable rhythm section was layered a myriad of funky guitar work from Billy and Lewis, including everything from complex picking to weird and wonderful soundscapes, along with shouted spoken-word lyrics from both guitarists. I could not hold myself back from moving my body and head in time with every song. The Boiling Overs’ music is infectious. You can hear the fun that everyone in the band had writing the music in every note. The instrumentals were so dissonant and yet fully cohesive, bringing to mind the likes of post-punk titans such as Leeds’ own Gang of Four and the Fall. There were several brilliant moments of interplay between the two guitars, in which notes were thrown around between the two and every single one stuck. The Boiling Overs are an incredibly fun band to watch, there’s no doubt about it. As a massive fan of strange, noisy guitar work, I absolutely loved this, and the Boiling Overs are a must-see for any fan of post-punk.
Image Credits: Oliver Buck @the.boliver.blog
