{"id":28255,"date":"2026-04-02T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=28255"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:02:29","slug":"split-dogs-wench-helle-hyde-park-book-club-leeds-27th-march-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=28255","title":{"rendered":"Split Dogs\/Wench!\/Helle – Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds – 27th March 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Who\u2019s up for a night of feminist shouty punk in a teeny, tiny venue at the arse end of Leeds then? Bristol punk n\u2019 rollers Split Dogs certainly are. Riding high on a recent tour with Gogol Bordello, a new album to be released in September and a stonking new single in \u2018Rock n\u2019 Roll Business\u2019 to promote. Tonight, they bring their wares to the ultra hipster Hyde Park Book Club, a prime student hangout filled with books, art, food, and a dark downstairs venue that is perfectly suited for sweaty punk rock debauchery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Local band Helle are already halfway through their set as I arrive, and they seem to have guitar issues. It doesn\u2019t phase singer Elsie, and she continues to smile and deliver her gothic-tinged riot grrl tunes, while the guitarist and soundman frantically try to fix the issue. The band continue to an already busy room with just bass, drums and an ethereal demeanour. Guitars reinstated, there\u2019s a cool energy that makes me wish I\u2019d turned up 15 minutes earlier. Imagine Siouxsie meets the Slits with a heady dose of Daisy Chainsaw for good measure. The girls look like rock stars, the boys look like\u2026boys. Great stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWench are not a girl band!\u201d So states the blue-haired drummer from Hull-based shouty feminist punks Wench!, halfway through their set. I beg to differ as the 3-piece band are certainly girls. But I get it, when you\u2019re playing to a largely male populated room, you gotta rage. And Wench certainly rage, with a raw and more visceral sound than the openers, their brand of aggro punk fits the bill nicely. The fact that the drummer and guitarist both handle lead vocals is pretty cool too, and gives some diversity. Two support bands that prove Northern grrls can riot with the best of \u2018em.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Split Dogs are the rock n\u2019 roll business from the moment they hit the stage. Dressed in a sparkly red number, singer Harry is the main focus, it\u2019s difficult to take your eyes off her. Some singers just have a certain presence, and Harri is one of those singers who delivers. And by the time the new single \u201cRock n\u2019 Roll Business\u201d has floored us about 4 songs in, it\u2019s clear they have the tunes to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guitarist Mil Martinez wears his influences on his tattooed sleeves. The riffs sound like Sleazy Quo, the guitar tone is sublime, and the delivery is a Mot\u00f6rhead-style assault. Newish Bassist Suez is now broken in and holds down the low end, the new shirtless and moustachioed drummer already fits like a leather glove.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s room here at the front!\u201d sneers Harry, beckoning those holding back to come forward and sweat. \u2018Lafayette\u2019 sounds killer, \u2018Monster Truck\u2019 is a beast and set closer \u2018And What\u2019 is as good as it gets.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relentless touring has paid off, it seems, as Split Dogs are a bit of a damn good live proposition. In a world where Amyl & The Sniffers are playing Enormodomes, it\u2019s a travesty that a band as good as this are still playing small clubs. But hey, let\u2019s keep it our little secret for now, ok. It\u2019s 2026, and I watched 3 great bands for \u00a312, now that\u2019s a bargain night out in anyone\u2019s book.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who\u2019s up for a night of feminist shouty punk in a teeny, tiny venue at the arse end of Leeds then? Bristol punk n\u2019 rollers Split Dogs certainly are. Riding high on a recent tour with Gogol Bordello, a new album to be released in September and a stonking new single in \u2018Rock n\u2019 Roll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[726,1787,1710,1680,8314,1833],"class_list":["post-28255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-review","tag-ben-hughes","tag-its-a-revolution","tag-rpm-online","tag-rpmonline","tag-split-dogs","tag-tourlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28255"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28261,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28255\/revisions\/28261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}