Live Review: Car Underwater / Prodigal / Prom @ Camden Assembly, London, UK - 07/07/26
Words: Ed Torode
Photo Credit: Ebony Davies
Fighting through London rush hour traffic on a hot summer’s day is a fate only the world’s worst human beings should be made to endure. Some may argue that this is a selling point for the TFL, and they would definitely be correct, but the battle was eventually won and the stressful commute to reach a venue in central Camden before the first set began had reached its end. Mission: successful.
Arriving at the Barfly, it was immediately apparent that most in attendance had decided to wait out the pre-show purgatory in a cooler environment; the stubborn no re-entry policy combined with a complete lack of venue AC forcing those that wished to enter to have to sit and sweat it out through sheer will. Very sparse numbers, but that all began to change when the night’s opener, Prodigal, took to the stage.
An initially unsuspecting four piece, Prodigal immediately made their mark. Playing a nostalgic brand of loud and air-tight nu metal, reminiscent of 90s titans such as Deftones and Mudvayne, they kicked the night off strongly. A few well placed beatdown parts activated a handful of die-hards stood at the front, but the majority of attendees stood and watched patiently. Enjoyed by all, but bar a few enthusiastic drunks and a handful of devotees allegedly there for them specifically, not much interaction. A killer vocal and a stage presence not-too-dissimilar from the likes of a young Maynard James Keenan, and stellar musicians all around. A really solid opener.
One thing that needs stating about the show was just how loud it was. The sound engineer was on top form; he knew the assignment and he delivered. No flair, no whistles, just straight rocking. Nothing to complain about here though, all three bands sounded amazing. Remember, children, blessed be thy ear protection.
Next came Prom, Brighton’s emocore darlings. If you’re unfamiliar, change that. Winning crowds over everywhere they go, tonight was no different. There’s something really awesome about a three piece band, and watching this one knock out banger after banger felt biblical. For the two steppers, the spinkickers, the finger pointers, Prom has it all and does it fantastically. Dear reader, this writer moshed, and this writer moshed hard.
The crowd really woke up during this set; whilst Prodigal played well and had a handful of TikTok teens bouncing around, Prom demanded more and got it. Charisma pours out of the two frontmen, joking amongst themselves and encouraging participants to get more involved. “Move forward, this one’s not like that, I’m not sure what those guys were doing.” “More spinkicks.” Something about their live performance always feels special, and it’s worth catching them as much as you can. No hard task, realistically, as they seem to play all the time. If you like rock music of any kind, do yourself a favour and go to the prom.
By this point in the evening, the complete and utter lack of AC was starting to make itself very known. Sweat drenched individuals dripped around the room, lurking in corners and milling around the merch desk. A display from all three bands stood patiently by the entrance, willing those in attendance to refresh themselves with their wares. It worked.
California’s Car Underwater headlined. Making their UK debut a mere year or so into their time as a band, it was clear that this had been a long time coming. People had waited for this, they knew all the words, and they acted feverishly. It was very interesting to see who had turned up to watch. An array of all ages: the aforementioned TikTok teens, all the way up to middle aged men and beyond, and everyone wanted to be there.
Lighting by this point had been the standard block colours: red, green, that sort of thing. Car Underwater made use of all of this, and threw in a triggered strobe on a couple of occasions that added to the atmosphere and suited the sound. That being said, fuck strobes. A few still managed to throw hands, and they did look cool doing it, but nothing is more terrifying than a clenched fist coming towards your face in stop motion.
Playing a style of music reminiscent of the mid-noughties post-hardcore and emo scenes, they executed it exceptionally. They’ve clearly drilled this a lot, and it came over really well. Six guys in tight shirts and black jeans, studded belts, a keyboard player, and four singers. Four. But they all killed it, and the singalongs were huge. It became more and more apparent as the set went on that they wanted more mic grabs- “Help him out,” a frequent request that only paid off on a handful of occasions.
That being said, the crowd was packed to the front, and if stage space and venue security had allowed for it there would have been ample opportunity to stage dive. This never came. But the moshers prevailed, finding space to throw down and show Car Underwater a good time. Far and away the best received band of the evening, their UK run started off very well. Come the end of their set, the queue for merch was the longest it had been all night, and one lad was standing, waiting with pen in hand, hoping for the band to sign his CD.
Car Underwater are in the UK for another few days, finishing with two sets in Manchester as part of Bring Me The Horizon’s “Count Your Blessings” anniversary shows. If you can make it to one of the dates, do it.