MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS start 2025 UK and Europe tour with new track and bigger crowds

MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS launched their 2025 UK and Europe tour on Saturday night with their first-ever Brighton performance, opening a 22-date stretch that will take the Kobe trio across the UK and into mainland Europe through early November.

Held at Concorde 2, the show drew a packed room of long-time followers of Japan’s underground rock scene, alongside a noticeably younger crowd brought in by the band’s renewed presence on platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok. When frontwoman Natsuko Miyamoto began the set with a dead mic, before the realisation that it simply hadn’t been switched on, it broke any early suspense in the best possible way.

The band, whose chemistry and modest stage demeanour remain as understated as ever, treated any hiccup with their typical mix of humour and self-awareness. For a group over two decades into their career, there’s still a sense of bewildered disbelief at the size of the crowds they’re drawing abroad, a quality that makes you just want to root for them more.

The set reaffirmed why MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS remain a lasting presence in the minds of their global fans, straddling the line between the noise-drenched post-hardcore and shoegaze textures of their early years and the tighter, melodic alt-rock of their recent work. Long instrumental stretches drew thunderous applause, while propulsive riffs and pop-laced hooks kept the crowd bouncing.

The biggest reactions of the night came from late viral hits like ‘Aoi, Koi, Daidaiiro no Hi’, a track that’s found unexpected second life online through fan edits and playlist algorithms. That resurgence has introduced the band to a younger generation of listeners, many discovering them for the first time through short clips rather than record store bins.

Brighton also heard the live debut of a new, currently untitled song, that continues their newer melodic cuts, sitting neatly between the fuzzy drive of ‘No New World’ and the cleaner polish of ‘Awakening:Sleeping’. Even without a name or release date, the audience treated it like a returning favourite, a great sign that their long serving and newly initiated fans alike aren’t just in it for the circulating hits, but for the band all together.

As in past tours, the encore closed with ‘delusionalism’, the opening track from their debut 2006 demo and a cornerstone of their live identity. Its shoegaze-inflected guitars and eruptive post-hardcore aggression draw a direct line from their DIY beginnings to the present day.

Since reforming in 2015 as an independent act, Miyamoto, guitarist Naoya Ogura, and drummer Isao Yoshino have become one of Japan’s most celebrated indie exports. Their 2024 European debut tour, which included a sold-out London show at EartH Theatre, was the first step in their move from underground cult favourites to reliable headliners across the continent.

Now they’re carrying that momentum into this new tour running across the UK through mid-October, culminating in their biggest UK headline to date at London’s Electric Ballroom on October 15th, before crossing the Channel for shows in Paris, Berlin, Prague and beyond.

Photos by Charles Shepherd

MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS
Awakening:Sleeping

Release Date: 17/08/2022
Label: FLAKE SOUNDS
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

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