Live Review: Marisa and the Moths + Ugly Club + Pulverise @ The Ferret, Preston on March 22nd 2025

Madhouse Promotions seem to be on a mission to single-handedly resurrect and revitalise the live rock scene in Preston.  With gigs over the last year from everyone from These Wicked Rivers to Nashville Pussy, and with shows lined up in 2025 from the likes of The Virginmarys, Wednesday 13, The Karma Effect and The Imperial Age to name but a few, Preston’s gig goers are enjoying a true rock n’ roll renaissance that is at once hugely welcomed and also long overdue.  The variety and breadth of sounds being brought to the city is once again on show with tonight’s bill delivering three powerful and unique performances from three very different bands. 

Pulverise crash into action on the back of Vicky Reader’s cymbals, her powerhouse drumming the beating heart of the band as they grab The Ferret by the throat and demand it sits up and takes notice. Pulverise are a breath of fresh air, their full-on rap metal attack, very different from so much on the grassroots rock scene, and as such tonight’s bill is all the better for having them be a part of it.  It’s a big, aggressive wall of sound, but one that despite its hard edge has an innate sense of humour and fun about it.  Energy comes off the stage in palpable waves, JoJo on vocals a whirlpool of constant movement, her commitment to her craft infectious, washing over into the audience, as she nails them with her compelling vocals and dynamic stage presence.  

A couple of songs in and there’s already early appreciation of what the band are doing – they’re here to party and so too are the Saturday night crowd, only enhanced by a brutally beautiful cover of Cypress Hill’s ‘Insane in the Brain’, with JoJo mixing things up and delivering the song in inimitable Pulverise style. And whilst it’s easy to be carried away and just groove along with the huge visceral bass runs and frantic riffage, equally this is a band with something to say. Words are powerful things and Pulverise wield them with an anger and ferocity at times, that is genuine and very honest. But these complexities are what make the band such a vital and perpetually entertaining force to be reckoned with. 

We’re treated to a punchy new track ‘Little Voice’, that urges everyone to “come on, speak up” to not allow themselves to be silenced or diminished, and on the strength of this number alone, new music from the Yorkshire four-piece is something we should all be looking forward to. Their rousing set comes to an end all too soon with the perennial 1-2-3-4 of ‘Slam Time’, as crowd and band unite in one final, triumphant groove. 

In common with Pulverise, Ugly Club too have a something to say.  There’s only three musicians up on stage but they hold the audience rapt from the moment singer Imogen Storey stands atop a flight case and sings the first notes, to the moment they echo away to thunderous applause at set close.  Looking round there are plenty of faces in the crowd singing along word perfect to every number, lost in Ugly Club’s distinctive sound, and it’s evident that here is a band that bonds powerfully with its followers both musically and emotionally  

And it’s easy to see why. 

A vocalist of prodigious talent Imogen has a range and depth that goes from smooth and delicate in one breath, to an anguished howl the next, covering everything in between along the way. But it’s her openness and the vulnerability she displays that allows such a strong connection to be made. Wearing her heart on her sleeve Imogen and Ugly Club’s alt-rock approach has huge appeal; it’s angsty, thought provoking and socially aware, whilst at the same time, melodic, accessible and musically diverse, drawing from any number of genres and style; it’s an unusual combination but one that’s absolutely compelling.   

‘What’s Wrong?’ for instance starts with a delicate almost spoken vocal, before a fuzzy guitar riff cuts in, similarly ‘Pain in my Chest’ has an almost mainstream pop sensibility wedded to razor sharp insightful lyrics.  Imogen throws herself around the stage with a passionate intensity and you can see these aren’t simply words to her, they have a real meaning and resonance. The Ferret crowd are enthusiastic in the warmth of their reception for the band, for their songs trade in real life emotions, situations many of us may have experienced and as such are eminently relatable; that they also have the musical chops and clever insightful songwriting talent to back up their words is just the icing on the cake. Definitely ones to watch….   

It’s Marisa and The Moths first ever headline show in Preston and the city’s rock fans have turned out in droves, packing The Ferret to capacity and turning it into a Saturday night sweat box.  Given a rapturous welcome and flanked by strobing columns of light, Marisa Rodriguez and the suavely cool Alez d’Elia on lead guitar and Liam Barnes on bass, take to the stage like conquering heroes.  A band about whom there seems a real buzz, Marisa and The Moths simply put, look like superstars who have already conquered the world and are loving every minute of it.  And if world domination isn’t quite there yet, in Marisa the band have a performer who could quite easily be a future icon, such is her dazzling presence and talent. She has the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand from the get- go; she raises her hands in the air and the crowd’s hands go up as one, unbidden, in a show of synchronicity and communion that’s intoxicating and irresistible. 

Far heavier live than you might expect the band are tighter than a duck’s nether regions, although tonight they are plagued by a few technical gremlins which may have derailed a lesser band. But that’s the joy and spontaneity of live music, anything can happen or go wrong at any time, and if things do go sideways, it’s how the band react that makes all the difference.  Marisa and the other musicians simply take it in their stride, bantering with the crowd, engaging in such a natural and unforced way that once things are back on track, everyone is even more onside with them than they were before if that’s actually possible, the band managing to turn a potential negative into definite positive. 

Unsurprisingly, much of the set comes from last year’s “What Doesn’t Kill You” album, those songs sounding bigger and even more dramatic live than they did in recorded form. Ranging across the different tones from that album we get for example ‘Fake It Till You Make It’ with it’s almost punky energy contrasting with the fabulous ‘Borderline’, its more delicate verses punching into a memorable chorus before Alez lets loose with a solo that raises the hairs on the back of the arms, as he makes his Gibson howl in a stunning display of guitar prowess that is really quite something to behold.   

There is also time for solo spots too, with Liam swapping bass for lead and showing some serious vocal skills as he involves the crowd in a fantastic singalong of a song with the refrain of “out on the porch by your house” which gives band and crowd alike a chance to draw breath.   

Marisa’s voice is a thing of beauty, whether dreamy and ethereal, forceful or anguished, it speaks volumes by its very tone alone, informing the narrative and the emotion of each song. And sometimes these very different tones are used in a single song to devastating effect; ‘Devil’ is an epic example of this, a swooping and brooding start to the song transforms into a more delicate, almost operatic vocal part before building and building and then handbraking into an almost harsh vocal, that has a massive contrasting impact.   

Marisa and the Moths deliver an all-encompassing undeniable experience from which you couldn’t escape if you wanted to (and I can guarantee that not a single soul in the Ferret wanted that set to end). Big on emotion, charisma and star power, it can surely only be a matter of time before the rest of the world wakes up and sees the talent and vitality of this phenomenal band and bigger and bigger stages beckon.   

And when that day does come, those that were here tonight will be able to smile knowingly and say “I remember them back when they played a Saturday night at The Ferret…” 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Marisa and the Moths + Ugly Club + Pulverise