Kira Mac + Jayler @ KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton – 4th May 2024

10 May 2024

Review by Paul H Birch, photos by Martin Tierney with Alex lonita

Lights down, save for a back-screen illuminating the name Jayler, eerie music seeps out through the PA and as someone finds the on-switch a young power-trio stands before us delivering some heavy duty semi-psychedelic riffage. From the angle I’m stood I catch sight, just off back stage, of another youth who comes running as fast as he can, guitar in hand, to leap up mid-stage, land, then start whizzing around. I suspect someone’s spiked his orange juice, but latterly finding the song’s called ‘Acid Rain’ it kind of make sense. That and goddamn youth; they don’t look old enough to shave, but play like they’ve been doing it all their life with the songs that follow getting more distinctly old school, with a bluesier classic heavy rock feel.

Taking their band name by combining lead guitarist Tyler Arrowsmith and singer/guitarist James Bartholomew’s forenames, it’s when the latter dispenses of his guitar and starts swaggering round the stage mic-in-hand, sporting the kind of open-blouse look we normally only get to see on old YouTube videos of Robert Plant and Dan McCafferty that we raise a quizzical eyebrow. Yet, it’s not quite a pastiche, as they continue to play you get the impression they’re living honestly in the moment and the results grown increasingly impressive.

They play their new single, the heavy stomping boogie ‘When You Go’, where a packed audience clap along hands high above their heads, ‘The Getaway’ is more 12 bar rock and roll, then rhythm section Ricky Hodgkiss (bass) and Ed Evans (drums) start ‘No Woman’ deliver the swaggering groove for the anthemic hipster rocking ‘Love Maker’, that takes a detour into a mettled-up ‘Boogie Mama’ as featured on Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains The Same movie. Continuing to wear their hearts on their sleeves, they tell us their final song’s going to be about “Vikings” before launching into ‘The Rinsk’- Mid-song looking left we see a bow strewn down on Arrowsmith’s guitar, back on six string Bartholomew takes over the soloing before the foursome pound towards conclusion and the kind of applause usually reserved for headline acts. Obvious major influences aside, the band sound more akin to are Canadian 70s acts like Moxy and Prism, with Bartholomew’s vocal pitch being similar to theirs, but this all-age audience couldn’t give a damn, they like what they hear, and Jayler’s future looks bright.

In spirited weekend mood, everyone about me sings along passionately as Tenacious D’s ‘Tribute’ plays over the PA. There’s little room for vocal criticism here tonight, even when the music cuts out for a moment before returning. By then, guitarist Joe Worrall and bass player Bret Barnes are gathered around drummer Max Rhead’s curiously positioned stage right kit. As they unleash a slab of metallic rock and begin to patrol the stage, we’re aware they’ve picked the baton straight up from their upstart supporting act and have little intention of letting go until the stage is drenched in their own sweat. Worrall is himself wearing a Jayler T-shirt so you know everyone’s on the same team, while Barnes flexes meaty biceps while wearing a puppy-dog grin. As with earlier tonight, the lead singer comes running in from stage left, and the fans let out another roar for Rhiannon Hill, covered in tattoos and a crop-top that continues to ride-up and require pulling down throughout the evening, not that many of the males here are likely complain.

But there’s just as many women here tonight, and they’ve got some scoring-back songs to singalong to, starting with ‘Save Your Whiskey’, followed more forcefully by its down-tuned chugged opening for ‘Dead Man Walking’ with the audience shouting along as it hit it’s hook line stride with a heavy swing in the chorus.

“Is everybody up for a party?” asks Hill in a thick Northern accent that endears the listener and later takes on a self-mocking tone worthy of many a comedienne of yesteryear. “That’s what we like to hear!” she responds following her audience’s response and we’re served fist-pumping metal over which her powerful voice delivers melody, before they coincide on a heavy groove, she then splitting the audience into two sides, each to sing along to ‘Chaos Is Calling’. Continuing to deliver a bonhomie attitude between songs, she tells us about a new album due, and that her current favourite is ‘Play The Game’, a moody grinding number they proceed to perform.

Worrall keeps his solos short, but it’s his sound that delivers the band’s major punch, the rhythm section pinning that down tightly with a hefty groove. He starts playing a riff that extends into a heavy metal boogie, key notes informing us we’re about to hear ‘No Way Out’, the band moving every which way about the stage as if to reinforce this declaration.

“Thanks so much for coming out!” Hill exudes, telling us they’re like an extended family, her own mother running their website and merchandising. Mention here, however, should be made of another younger blond tattooed lass who’s been roaming the stage. It’s mostly around the perimeters but not always, and a few neighbours here in the audience have been muttering complaint. We’ll later be told she’s filming footage for a documentary, and that makes sense, as will a number of cover numbers for inclusion, but it’s not something people here-in-the-moment tend to appreciate. Still, I’ve gone to see acts where all I’ve got is a BBC cameraman’s backside in my face all night only to see the actual show on TV a year later.

Broken chords lead us into ‘Scorned’, Kira Mac’s most played song on Spotify, whence once Hill lets out a mighty scream the band proceed to pummel the number. As she sings “Hell have no fury!” and I nod understandingly while those about me headbang with vigour. There’s more audience clapping prior to Worrall soling and the song concluding, after which the musicians leave the stage.

Seated on stage with an acoustic in hand, she proceeds to play a number called ‘This Story’ that proves to be a heartfelt number, her voice dusky, her playing bright, and one of the highlights of the night. Worrall returns, sits alongside her on another chair, but takes the shared guitar, and for afficionados out there I can inform them he had a capo set at third fret as they perform a Chris Stapleton, come Justin Timberlake, number called ‘Say Something’, then follow it with ‘Imagine What We Could’ve Been’. “We’re not a couple!” she jokes about the pair, describing how they first started performing together ten years back. When asked if they like Oasis there’s a major “Boo!” heard around KK’s Steel Mill, but Britpop prejudices seem to subside as the audience realise ‘Half The World Away’ is also the theme tune to Gavin & Stacey, though there’s no denying Hill’s voice takes the song onto another level. They complete this acoustic set with ‘Whiskey On You’ that ruminates in a Plant-Page manner but the covers continue as the band return with Alanis Morrissette’s ‘You Oughta Know’ albeit it’s not immediately obvious with its slow bluesy beginning that struts into rock with most singular guitar attack before the chorus delivery registers on the audience’s faces, the females in loud voice singing along to the proverbial “Fuck you!” moments.

Rock and rolling, ‘Hit Me Again’ sees Worrall shorn of his baseball cap as he riffs up alongside Barne, parting as molten metal ensues alongside the crowd arms-in-the-air clapping along proving they’re as lively and up for a workout as both bands tonight. ‘Hell Fire And Holy Water’ is next, one minute robotic industrial riffing, the next a staccato strut, sweeping into Southern rock. ‘Never Going To Stay’ is likely to be retired after this tour, we’re told, not least because it’s tale of personal relationships gone wrong is a story grown cold with age. It proves to have something of an AOR quality here tonight, and there are distinct keyboard or programming effects hear as it’s played.

Coming in a little earlier than expected is ‘Mississippi Swingin’’. Big in sound, sumptuous with its metal boogie stomp, it swaggers with bravado and proves yet another universal singalong, in between bouts of headbanging that’s also to be found on stage as the standing threesome gather together. Proceeding to do what so few do these days and play numbers from an number yet to be released we get ‘Farewell’ and ‘Climbing’ to close the set, that are “heavy as fuck” and we’re told to “headbang like Lemmy’s with us!” While I disobey, most oblige happily. Worrall’s got a Gibson Black Beauty out for the first of these numbers, as they go for broke, Hill raging and screaming still with a full voice vocally, and the band bordering on nu-thrash in their seek and destroy musical assault.

Leaving the stage, they return just as enthusiastic for two encores. ‘Downfall’ feels like Pat Benatar delivering an R ‘n B metal number, prior to slowing down as Hill tells us: “We can never get to say thank you enough for coming. We are so grateful to be doing this,” and if the size of this audience and their positive response is any indication, things bode well for this relatively young band’s career trajectory. But there’s still some three minutes or more left as the heavy country rocking of ‘One Way Ticket’ crushes it, and with peace signs held aloft, a gathering for a group photo, and a promise to see you at the merchandise stand, that’s it, kids.

On record Kira Mac deliver modern heavy blues with a country slant, tonight that’s present but the metal component in their music is turned to 11, and the audience complains not one iota. But, even, if the music wasn’t your cup of tea, you’d be hard pressed to deny both bands gave everything in their performance tonight.

Set List: