Irish quartet Sprints rock up at the Woodsies Stage on Sunday afternoon having just announced that All That Is Over, the follow up to their excellent debut album Letter To Self is on its way. The band saw a significant rise in profile with the release of that first album, thanks to some glowing reviews, and there is a healthy crowd gathered to see if they can build on the promise.
Opening with a new song, Somethings Gonna Happen, is a risky move, but its slightly folksy post-punk sounds massive and lead singer and guitarist Karla Chubb immediately looks every inch the star on stage. Chubb is excellent, and, with no disrespect to her bandmates, without her Sprints would not be the same band at all. Her piercing eyes, framed by a mop of fiery red hair, glare into the crowd as she sings, her idiosyncratic voice coming from a curled lip and her body shaking as she moves in time with the music. When Sprints do finally play a song people know, third song Heavy, the energy off the stage ramps up.
