Wrong Speed Fest North: Kirkgate Centre

Wrong Speed Fest North
Kirkgate Centre, Shipley
23rd May 2026

Louder Than War’s Andy Brown heads to the first Wrong Speed Fest North: a noisy and exhilarating celebration of a fantastic DIY label.

Organised by those fine folk at The Endless Hum, tonight is the very first Wrong Speed Fest North. Centred around the brilliant Wrong Speed Records, the night is a celebration of the labels rather impressive roster and a good excuse for a knees-up this bank holiday weekend. Having failed to make the best of the sunny weather during the day, I head to the Kirkgate Centre to console myself with an evening of noise, punk and post punk revelry.

A dark drone begins and we’re drawn towards the stage to soak up a set from Chris Spalton AKA The Breedling. A rumbling like Satan’s own bellyache fills the room as creepy vocal samples and jittery sonic shenanigans linger underneath. With a laptop and some electronic kit to hand, Spalton lays on wave-after-wave of sci-fi electronics, heavy beats and thoroughly nasty noise. As much as it sounds like a hellmouth opening, it’s oddly therapeutic. “You can think of me when you’re whistling this one on the way home,” Spalton jokes before unleashing one last sonic beast.

There’s a marked change of pace with tonight’s second act, Science Fiction. The five-piece features members of various underground bands including guitarist Chris Summerlin, who has the likes of Hey Colossus, Grey Hair and Lords on his CV. Blimey. This new group trade in brooding post punk with dramatic, goth-enamoured stylings. Oh yes, I may have very well found my soundtrack to the summer.

All the energy on stage is channelled through the animated presence of vocalist Simon Feirn (Bob Tilton/Wolves Of Greece). While quietly spoken in-between, the songs find him clutching his head, stamping his feet and gripping the microphone like his life depends on it. What’s more, The Snarling Face of God – aside from being a raw, existential rager – is quite possibly the best song title of the day.

“Get on with it,” jokes American vocalist Anmarie Spaziano in her best Yorkshire accent, moments before the brilliant Blind Eye burst into action. The Nottingham-based band produce the kind of rabid hardcore racket that will make fans of Bad Brains et al weak at the knees. Spaziano mentions doing her shoulder in while gardening, but it doesn’t seem to be holding her back. Now that’s punk rock.

The band serves up extremely fast, no-frills (yet plenty of thrills) straight-from-the-heart hardcore. Every song feels like a mini (barely) controlled explosion while a tune like Where Is Your Line – “because we’ve seen so many lines crossed” – feels like a particularly apt punk rock banger. Rabid, fun and angry as hell.

Helen Walkinshaw – vocalist in Tyne and Wear punks Irked – crouches in front of the stage like a coiled spring or a hunter waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting prey. Suddenly, I.R.K.E.D.F.U kicks in and the whole band comes alive. The singer paces around, weaving in and out of the crowd and screaming into our faces. Asking for the monitors to get dialled down a little, guitarist Simon Hubbard jokes that he feels like “a husband getting shouted at.” A revelation that clearly tickles Walkinshaw as she involuntarily spits her water across the stage.

The band are clearly enjoying themselves and that sense of camaraderie comes through with every infectiously energetic offering. For some reason, this is the first time I’ve seen Irked live and its one of those performances that has me asking why – and how – it took me so long. ACP is introduced as a song about protecting DIY spaces while Grievances is dedicated to the much-maligned trans community. A small but very important gesture of solidarity.

“We want trans rights/ We want workers’ rights/ We want intersectional feminist rights,” goes The Hardest Man in Billingham. Blistering tunes and a great message? Irked have got ya covered! The fact that they carry it all off while having the time of their lives makes it all the sweeter. A noisy, exhilarating and life-affirming set. Like a rollercoaster but actually fun.

“Alright, give it a whirl,” murmurs Claire Adams, vocalist/ bassist in Leeds-based post punks Objections. There’s always been something immensely satisfying about watching this trio live; the way each song feels like an unwritten roadmap that makes its way through various sonic valleys and riff-filled ravines. Crack out yr boots, we’re going hiking.

It would be fair to say that Adams and drummer Neil Turpin know their way around a groove. Heads hypnotically nod along in agreement as the music unfurls and flows out into the Kirkgate Centre crowd. TJOMT finds their endlessly inventive guitarist Joe O’Sullivan eking alien soundscapes from the amplifiers as the rhythm section pulls us ever-deeper into their inescapable orbit. Man, oh man, it’s been too long…

The set focuses on material from their much-anticipated second album, road testing the new tunes with a room full of eager ears. Fell Off My Bike sounds lean and limber while Beans proves to be particularly mesmerising. Stalactite is just the kind of strange and idiosyncratic post punk that they excel at. Consider my appetite whetted.

The trio’s impressive and flexible musicianship is undeniable and it’s an absolute pleasure to watch them get to work. Ever the consummate professional, Turpin doesn’t even miss a beat when his stick snaps mid-song. You just can’t stop ‘em.

Tonight feels like a well-deserved victory lap for one of the best DIY labels in the country. If you’re not familiar then you really need to look them up in time for the next Wrong Speed Fest. We’re doing all this again, right?

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You can find Wrong Speed Records on Bandcamp, Instagram and Facebook.

Read more about The Endless Hum on their website, Instagram and Facebook.

All photos by Jim Mumby | You can find him on Facebook and Instagram.

All words by Andy Brown. You can visit his author profile and read more of his reviews for Louder Than War here.