Basht. | The Social, London | 28/03/24

Basht. are unstoppable. What was a night to celebrate Dirty White Lies, became a look into what’s coming next.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Fired up after the release of a long-awaited debut EP, Dublin’s hottest band of 2024 commanded a packed-out, sweaty and chaotic headline set at The Social in London.

Basht. are Jack Leavey, Louis Christle, Sam Duffy, Rossa Healy and Luke O’Neill. Hailing from Dublin, they join a growing list of breakthrough artists (Fontaines DC, Inhaler) coming from the Irish capital. Their recent EP garnered attention from critics across the UK and abroad. We described it as ‘a prodigious collection forming the most electrifying debut EP in years’ in our review.

Hitting the road to support the EP, Basht. visited Dublin, Galway, Manchester, London and Glasgow. With an additional mini-festival date on the horizon in Leeds. (tickets here). After seeing their set at Sebright Arms earlier this year, we headed to Little Portland St to catch a glimpse of the infamous Dirty White Lies Tour and bask in the sensational live presence Basht. radiate.

Following a frenetic, rebellious and unrelenting performance from support band Nixer, Basht. took to the stage with confidence, swagger and force. Slipping into the mesmerising riffs of Stockholm, the lights dimmed to a blood-like red. As we cycled through track after track, Jack clutched the mic, passionately crying back every word to the sounds of a full band jamming just behind.

Considering this was a tour to support their first EP, half of the setlist (7/14) was unreleased material. Before reaching the tracks we’d longed for, we were treated to 6 new ones back-to-back, a reminder Basht. aren’t stopping anytime soon. Avid fans may have heard these before, but others got a tease into why this band is on the rise. The Smiths, Radiohead and Nirvana feel like notable influences for what’s to come.

These new tracks seem meatier and darker than Dirty White Lies, complimented live by Sam’s theatrical guitar playing, Jack’s pent-up stage presence and a tight band performance. You never know where to look when watching these boys - there’s always something happening. It’s a testament to their charisma and competence as a live band.

Earlier singles Tomorrow. and 456 made an appearance, slowing down the evening and gifting a moment to catch a breath for the crowd and band - both of which were dripping in sweat. Tomorrow. remains one of their most popular tracks because of its cinematic storytelling. Bitter & Twisted, another one unreleased, was a definite set highlight. This track will likely appear as one of the lead singles of their next EP, that’s our guess anyway.

The real carnage unfolded with Never Love. - immediately throwing everyone into a feral mindset, as this tightly-packed space became squeezed with righteous bouncing. The infectious energy this song seems to dig out of people with the initial riff is impressive, and as every word is sung back louder, it’s clear this will stay a fan-favourite for a while.

Directly afterwards, the equally storming bassline of Gone Girl started pulsating through the four walls, as we (unprofessionally) paused our photo pass duties to join the chaos of the crowd. Despite being released in February, the overwhelmingly positive reception this tune received was on par with Never Love., which puts it in a prime position to be huge.

From this moment onwards, the crowd had been unchained, and follow-ups TIAY and Wild Horses cemented the evening as another London triumph for the Dublin boys. As the biggest and most expansive track on the EP, Wild Horses continued to transcend the realms of what’s possible.

Some of the biggest bands in the world would kill for a song on this scale. As Jack yearns ‘heavy rain’ and the finale guitar solo kicks in, those words wouldn’t feel misaligned with Basht. in general, as they continue their envious trajectory as one of the freshest new artists of 2024.

:: Round-Up ::

This was a night of unity, bringing together their fast-growing cult-following of fans (new and old) to unleash chaos in the capital. If there was one takeaway from the evening, it’s a reminder that Basht. are unstoppable. What was a night to celebrate Dirty White Lies, became a look into what’s coming next. And we’re so ready.

See full setlist on Setlist.fm. Were you at the show? Check out our Insta and TikTok for videos, or share your own with us.