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Puressence | Porcelain
Islington Assembly Hall, London
Saturday 25 April 2026<\/p>\n
Thirty years since their debut, Mancunian cult heroes Puressence\u2019s swelling, anthemic pop remains affecting as ever. Steve Morgan rolls back the years.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the biggest irony for one of the finest near-miss bands of their generation is that Puressence took so much inspiration from The Chameleons that they almost mirrored their fate. Both emerged from unfashionable north Manchester streets, their career trajectories mapping a similar terrain \u2013 always on the cusp of the big breakthrough, backed by an adoring fanbase. If you knew, you knew. And the music? Guitar-driven, swelling euphoric anthems, forged in hope but \u2013 critically \u2013 played without the cynicism or contrivance that can often render much of this \u2018everyman\u2019 stance hollow and manufactured. These were authentic indie blues: music made by and for people routinely used to being kicked in the teeth, chewed up and spat out, but always sticking it to The Man.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no coincidence Puressence handpicked Mark Burgess and his cohorts as support for July\u2019s homecoming show, the biggest UK date of a career spanning 30 years since the release of 1996\u2019s self-titled debut. The return to action on home turf in 2024, with a jubilant show at Manchester\u2019s Albert Hall, suggested unfinished business. While there has been no new material since 2011\u2019s fifth studio offering, Solid State Recital, the two-year wait to experience the band\u2019s next live chapter looks like dynamism in comparison.<\/p>\n
Believers in delayed gratification are in their element tonight: the joy and warmth in the air at Islington Assembly Hall is electric, knowledge of the band\u2019s back catalogue granular. The crowd, who have fought their way gamely through the sun-kissed, tea-time throng of Arsenal replica shirts, are enthusiastic and hugely expectant. And, frankly, what does \u2018near miss\u2019 mean, or matter when your audience is this loyal? Not talking about Arsenal\u2019s title bid here.<\/p>\n
And they\u2019re here early. Support act Porcelain, who deliver a note-perfect set of crystalline power pop, comment on how great it is to have such a decent showing for a support slot \u2013 \u201cwe\u2019ve never played to more than 120 people\u201d notes singer Curtis Longstaff. He might have to get used to it. If Jeff Buckley, Radiohead and early Coldplay are obvious points of reference \u2013 I\u2019m sure I even heard a line about parachutes \u2013 it\u2019s something else to sound this good early on in the journey.<\/p>\n
![\"Puressence:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Puressence-Islington-Assembly-Hall-by-Robyn-Skinner-10-scaled.jpg\")
Fittingly, Puressence open with Near Distance, the lead-off track on that first album, an instruction manual for their sonic approach. Over guitarist Lowell Killen\u2019s eerie siren call, the shimmering haze resolves itself into a full-on, gut-punching barrage. But that heavy load is always leavened by the band\u2019s USP: that voice. James Mudriczki\u2019s falsetto \u2013 and his sweeping and soaring range \u2013 is a sound so other, Inspiral Carpets\u2019 Clint Boon, who shared rehearsal space with the band in their early days, was shocked to discover the singer was male. It\u2019s still an extraordinary \u2018who is this?\u2019 sound.
Besides The Chameleons and shades of Stone Roses \u2013 there\u2019s a huge cheer for the appearance of the late Mani in the back-projected video for Walking Dead \u2013 there\u2019s a strong pop sensibility at work, which makes the band\u2019s elusiveness for the average Joe more baffling yet. Across the next hour and 20 minutes, the zingers keep coming, steepling choruses, intriguing lyrical snatches \u2013 \u201clet\u2019s talk about the way you cut yourself, and it was just tomato sauce\u201d \u2013 adding heft to that expansive sound.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a Sixties, saccharin-tinged feel in parts, at times redolent of fellow Mancunians The Hollies, particularly on the happy-sad bounce of She\u2019s Gotten Over You, which also calls to mind Pulp\u2019s imperial phase. On a similar tack, It Doesn\u2019t Matter Anymore has a melody so sweet, it could have come straight out of the Brill Building. From a slightly stuttering start, Don\u2019t Forget to Remember morphs into an epic grand sweep of the embers of a failed relationship, where Mudriczki reaches for the top notes over Killen\u2019s melancholy-tinged jangle. \u201cAnd when we used to smile at the camera, none of those pictures were real \u2013 none of that shit was ever real\u201d another bittersweet image.<\/p>\n
By now crowd and band are in lockstep. Mudriczki \u2013 suffering with flu \u2013 turns his mike on the audience for a breather, prowling the stage, or standing on the monitor to take it all in, allowing the faithful to complete a verse or chorus. It could feel cliched in the wrong hands, it\u2019s spine-tingling here \u2013 there\u2019s a half-decent mosh going on, too. Either side of Mudriczki, Killen \u2013 with some sterling work on the standout Make Time \u2013 and bassist Kev Matthews cut intense figures, wedded to their work, with drummer Anthony Szuminski offering solid, effective backing. There\u2019s a fascinating mash-up on the big screen behind, too: clips from Wim Wenders\u2019 Wings of Desire, Apocalypse Now, Carrie and the Manga classic Attack On Titan lend extra gravitas.<\/p>\n
~<\/p>\n Puressence play Manchester Academy on 2 May and Castlefield Bowl on 2 July.<\/p>\n Puressence can be found on Here<\/a> and on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n All words by Steve Morgan. Steve is on Bskysocial<\/a> \u00a0and Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Puressence:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Puressence-Islington-Assembly-Hall-by-Robyn-Skinner-6-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>A shade over an hour later, they\u2019re done. After a delay lengthy enough to make you wonder if they\u2019ll return, we get a stirring rendition of This Feeling, and a blinding, fiery finale with I Suppose, track two off that debut. It\u2019s right that the first and last word should come from that initial rush, material that still makes for a potent listen \u2013 and it feels right to have them back. On the way out, I strike up a conversation with Sam, who has travelled down from Hertfordshire. A devout indie kid in the 1990s, she says she somehow missed Puressence entirely. Introduced to them six months ago, she excitedly explains how she\u2019s lapped up everything she can find since. There\u2019s an honest sound, one that people invest in. Everyone deserves a second chance, but few deserve it more. Noses forever against the glass looking in, beavering away outside the inner circle: no-frills, no art-school bullshit. No pretence, putting the pure into essence. Welcome back.<\/p>\n