On a sleepy weeknight when the weather’s hardly screaming August, thrash-pop is what you need…

Melbourne-hailing Aussie two-piece Mannequin Death Squad have been touring the UK lately, and they returned to Leeds having not long since played The Key Club, to support punk veterans T.S.O.L. at the iconic Brudenell*. 

The pair — who picked an ironic, fun stage moniker considering there’s just the two of them — were fresh and on an angst-fuelled high, despite having been up in Scotland earlier in the day. The gig followed their latest release, ‘Monsters’, though they pulled out plenty of belters, including the older ‘Seventeen’ and the brand-new, yet-to-drop ‘Don’t Care’. 

Through just one super-scuzzy guitar and a thunderous drum kit, they achieved a massive, full-throttle sound beyond the capacity of two, which was prepared to blow anyone’s ears off in the room. And they had a dynamic approach to performing; Elly and Dan switched up their roles throughout their set, so you had a cluster of tracks with each at the mic helm, to the left of the stage. 

Although riotous in the main, they were really engaging and smiley, too, as they totally mesmerised the crowd. But for me, the standout was the shredding; they managed this seamless lead-guitar quality with only six strings, which were palm-muted and plucked to perfection at different parts of each song. 

While Mannequin Death Squad may not have been on my radar for ages, they’re certainly on it to stay now.

*With thanks to Public City PR for the press access