Alabama 3

Alabama 3 are not, in fact, 3 Alabamians but rather a group of 8 from Brixton who describe themselves on their website as “the fellas that did the Sopranos theme tune” and make the same joke about their name that I just did. Aside from having an excellent sense of humour, they make music that seems to defy both genre and logic, “crypto-Marxist-Leninist” music that will no doubt appeal to students, music with sardonic, satirical lyrics and charismatic, ego-tastic stage personas.  The founders of A3 cite Trainspotting as one of their biggest influences, which is unsurprising considering their chaotic, music-for-everyone style. As D Wayne Love puts it in a Guardian interview with the book’s author Irvine Welsh, their aim is to show young people that, rather than genres like country and blues being the possession of older generations, “they can [still] make music based on their own lives.”

Since what reviewer Jason Reeher has described as their “brilliant and shambolic” mid-90s debut their music has been featured on everything from The Sopranos to The Simpsons, and two decades later they are still going strong enough to come and perform at Bristol’s O2 Academy. There’s no doubt that the audience will be given not just a gig, but an entire show; an insane, absurd performance that will be unlike anything else you’ve seen this year and beyond.