Wilding Promotions were at it again bringing a while host of pop punk/emo to Fuel Rock Club and with five bands on the bill it was an early start and straight to it with We Are Zero (6) who brought punchy driving riffs from their Jesus lookalike guitarist, punctuate their Midwest emo vibes. I can't fault their crowd interaction was good even getting some of the more reluctant members of the audience to get involved, their new song had some Sum 41 vibes (more from them later) however the vocals need some work, but I love their 2000's punk vibe.
Next came Say It Anyway (7) who have reminded me of Pierce The Veil, very crisp vocally, band gel well together on stage after what seemed like and awkward soundcheck that left the top end weirdly high and grating, but this was technical issue not the bands fault. No one seemed to notice though as they looked like they were having a great time, getting the crowd clapping along with them before they really got them on side with the rest of their hard hitting set.
The energy was still high as Stay Safe (5) took to the stage as they brought a great stage presence to Fuel with their pop punk that takes more from pop then punk reminding me of All American Rejects with similarities to Ray Hawthorne but they don't take themselves too seriously live.
Next up it was getting a bit heavier as breakout Polish pop punk band CF98 (8) blew up Fuel with a killer mix of punk and mental breakdowns. There's great energy and vocals from Karolina Duszkiewicz as the band have a really polished sound. Having returned in 2017 they've really used the last ten years to define themselves and their punk rock style, full of fun and funky basslines that got the crowd feeling it. Their standout song for me was Find Your Own Way but closing out the set with some crowd pleasing pop/punk classics is always a popular choice.
The headliners were Bristol emo/punks Downcast (9) who opened with Face It and from there were in your face for the whole of their set.
Downcast have hardcore energy mixed with pop punk/emo lyrics delivered with energy by their excellent frontman. They are unapologetically emo, low heavy rhythms and breakdowns driving their music and they have a bass player that just slaps on every song. Bittersweet got the crowd fully engaged, remembering a friend who passed away, it's a passion filled moment of their live show that has them at their most introspective but also their most anthemic.
Their own tracks are just as welcome as their fantastic cover of Fat Lip by Sum 41 as Downcast channel these genre legends in their own way to a big applause from the Cardiff crowd.
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