★★★★☆
I didn’t know much about the support for King Nun but there were three bands filling that role tonight and the first to take the stage were Royal Bloom, a three piece grunge band hailing from Ayr.
2018 and Ayr might be the last two places you would look to find anything resembling grunge but here we are. I imagine they make no apologies for coupling their sound to heavyweights like Nirvana or Soundgarden. It doesn’t feel like a forced or a cheap imitation either as they deliver this set with conviction and fervour.
The standout track for me was “Under the Bridge” which is well worth a listen and can be dowloaded free over at the bands website (ww.royalbloomuk.com)
Next on stage were Hunkybug and yes, their name is probably the worst thing about them. They had a formidable amount of energy which was as quirky as it was entertaining.
With a sound that sits somewhere between early Kings of Leon and the Clash they were only let down by some technical difficulties that meant the lead singers microphone was effectively switched off. Much of the second half of the set began to feel like an instrumental with Ian Curtis inhabiting the body of guitarist, Jack Selby, as the performance climaxed with some erratic and surprising stage moves.
