After a huge tour to end 2025, Inspiral Carpets took some time to record a new album and this week they re-emerged as they start their massive 2026 campaign. Stuart Ralston took a trip down to Chester to catch Oscar Boon’s debut on guitar and a whole lot more.
Inspiral Carpets had a phenomenal 2025 and left us with the promise of more to come and a new album to boot. The first show of the summer finds the band a short trip down the road from their native Oldham at Chester’s popular Live Rooms.
With the new album recorded and available to pre-order from all good record stores, we are treated to title track Burn Like The Sun as the opening number. Getting its live debut, it’s a bold opening statement. Dominated by a pulsating bass line, some powerful dominant drumming from Kev and a simple almost mantra-like vocal from Ste, it hits you immediately. It’s everything you’d expect from the band and a fantastic way to get tonight’s show up and running. There’s no time to pause for breath as a massive She Comes In The Fall follows. It’s as fresh as ever and benefits from some cool guitar licks from Oscar Boon, deputising for Graham Lambert who is taking some time out this year. Tonight is Oscar’s live debut on guitar although is no stranger to the band having played bass whilst Martyn Walsh was on sabbatical. As ever, Kev Clark is the star on She Comes In The Fall with a mesmerising drum solo to end it.
On the fast paced Weakness, Oscar delivers a storming solo. He’s clearly learned a lot from the maestro Graham yet he adds his own stamp to proceedings. Weakness is as good as it has ever sounded with commanding vocals from Ste.
The pace is sustained by an anthemic Move. The band are incredibly tight despite this being the first show of the year with the new line up. It’s followed by the already classic new single Drag The Bag; a big favourite on Absolute Radio and especially Virgin Radio where it has been championed by Chris Evans it is the second of four tunes from the new album. We have been enjoying Drag The Bag for a while now with its groovy keys from Clint whilst Oscar conjures up a real garage sound on his guitar. It gets a resounding reaction from the capacity crowd. Clint then gives us a temperature update as he’s installed a clock on his Farfisa much to the amusement of the rest of the band. It’s currently 88.8 degrees Fahrenheit and we will be stopping for a hydration break but not before some other big hitters including Two Worlds Collide and
Let You Down. The latter on particular really packs a punch. Although we still view it as a new Inspirals song, it’s been around now for twelve years. The middle section sees the band improvising to great effect.
Beast Inside slows the pace down and showcases a different side to the band from the garage rock Northern Soul infused Let You Down. Beast Inside has that big powerful tubular bells opening before Martyn’s bass kicks in. He’s invested in a new one (and a new effects pedal Oscar tells me later) and it creates a whole new previously untapped sound to the mix.
Butterfly is dedicated to the legendary Alex Staszko and I and is a welcome addition to the set. The lead track from Trainsurfing is delivered at a blistering pace dominated by Clint and Oscar again adds a powerful guitar line which matches the brilliance of Graham.
The next treat is another new one the band played several times last year - Wolf At The Door. It’s reminiscent of Nuggets and ? & The Mysterians with a swirling psychedelic Farfisa. Magnificent.
As the first set draws to a close, the final four are all massive bit hitters- I Want You, This Is How It Feels, Dragging Me Down and Sackville. It’s some way to end the set. I Want You is absolutely electric and once again Oscar storms it. Running at just three minutes it’s a perfect post punk single. Sharp, direct and it hits the spot. This Is How It Feels is slowed down a little and augmented by Oscar on backing vocals.
The sound in the hall has been loud and in your face all night and no more so on a solid Dragging Me Down. You can hear everything with crystal clear clarity in the mix and Dragging Me Down is exemplary. It’s sequenced into Sackville which is as dark and edgy as ever. We them get a ten minute hydration break before the second / encore set. It sees Oscar, Martyn and Kev take to the stage first to jam on a stunning Commercial Rain and Martyn plays a brilliant Commercial Rain / Blue Monday hybrid bass line. Incredible.
The last of the new ones - There’s A Better Way - sneaked out a few times on the last tour and we instantly loved it. Not as immediate as some of the others but a classic in the making for sure. Joe follows and does exactly what we expect. Another real highlight and another delivered at a blistering pace. It sounds as good as it did back in 1989 yet Uniform which follows has positively flourished since it was released back in 1994. It has grown in stature since then and more immediate than its recorded predecessor. I don’t think Directing Traffic has ever been delivered so late in the set before. At just over two minutes long, it’s dominated by Kev & Clint and ends with a resounding Ste vocal.
As always, Saturn 5 brings the show to a close. It’s sharp and polished and sends the Chester crowd home smiling.
There has been something for everyone tonight; from the casual listener to the connoisseur. A celebration of the past and a big nod to the future.
Inspiral Carpets have a busy year with their own shows, festivals and a big tour with The Wonder Stuff to look forward to. On this form, they are unstoppable.
Inspiral Carpets official website is here where you can find a full list of upcoming shows. They are also on Twitter and Facebook.
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