Review: Geordie Greep at The Rechabite

Geordie Greep at The Rechabite
Tuesday, August 4, 2026

When it became apparent that Geordie Greep was the only act for this night, with a slot stretching over two hours, it piqued interest. With only one album under his belt, the question was initially whether he would revive any material from his prior band, the now-legendary black midi. The band was chief among a wave of UK upstarts who redefined progressive rock for the new generation (see also: Black Country New Road, Squid) and Greep’s madman energy was a huge part of that.

Yet somehow the man, still only 26, has managed to rise out of midi’s embers with a sound that is even more distinctive than that band’s jazz-math-post-punk brew. On 2024’s debut solo LP The New Sound, Greep channelled samba and bossa nova influences alongside sharp jazz fusion as he donned his crooner hat, often slowing down his unique vocal delivery across songs whose lyrics and concept bit harder than ever before.

Across the night, Greep and his band stuck to The New Sound. This begs the original question of how Greep carried an hour-long album across the entire set, and the answer was with ease, as he stretched and bent these songs into mini jazz fusion symphonies and reminded us of the wiry musicality that underpins his music. The set opened with Walk Up, a song whose menacing-to-chaotic verse-chorus structure introduced the stop-start dynamics and flights of instrumental genius that would define the night.

Terra carried on with the samba vibes (the crowd lovingly singing along to the refrain of “terra terra terra”) before a sax solo kicked off a set of sublime solo tunes. The New Sound was indebted to an army of session musicians, including Sao Paulo locals, where some recording sessions took place.

Greep extended the concept of a fluid backing band for the Australian tour, backed by five crack session players who brought each track’s jazzy density to life. On this number the highlight came from the drummer and percussionist as they delivered a solo that was equal parts grooving and chaotic.

The improvisations were powerful, both for their fire and discipline. This was not a jam band; track length stretched in favour of solos and whole-band improvisational turns that never overstayed their welcome and sometimes felt like extra, progressively-minded sections that these tracks could have contained on record.

On the cacophonous Blues for instance, the band was in full flight before Greep stopped the track dead in its tracks and entered a needly and scatty improvisational part before the track unravelled back into its main melody. Follow-up Through A War played things relatively straight before giving way to an awesome unison riff by the band to close.

Greep himself was a revelation throughout, playing equal parts frontman, conductor, scatman, and virtuoso guitarist. His guitar playing was defined by a crispy tone and angular jazzy runs that lent the music a serious bite, with some of his mathy riffing recalling prog legends King Crimson. One thing left a bit in check was Greep’s acerbic wit, as it would not have gone amiss to hear more from the man.

The New Sound is one of the finest skewerings of toxic masculinity on record in recent memory, its lyrics exploring the scattered thoughts of a narcissistic ‘man in finance’ whose life is driven by mad bluster and validation-seeking behaviour, yet inwardly is falling apart as he steps away from his marriage and falls in love with a prostitute who he is enamoured by yet really sees as little more than an object that he eventually wishes to control.

The album’s absurd lyricism is inspired, and Greep embodies the character, equal parts manic sociopath and louche lounge lizard, perfectly. In a live setting this was not captured as easily, though Greep possessed an effortless charm as he navigated everything with a playful ease. A likely improvised aside about an absurd lagoon, being in his grandma’s kitchen (“Oh, Grandma, my Continental Grandma”), and getting a new jumper was hilarious, and it would have been nice to hear more from the mind behind the words.

Thankfully, this was hardly required when he had such excellent songs and band to bear. Instrumental journeys followed Through A War with the band touching on themes from Bongo Season before transitioning to the beautiful As If. Then finally, fan-favourite single Holy Holy emerged as a live behemoth, time melting away in what may have been an over 15-minute rendition of the song that navigated through multiple sections, in a performance that would have done well to be recorded for a live album.

The highlight was a scat-driven middle portion that gave way to chanting over a memorable improvised theme before the backing band’s guitarist, largely on rhythm up to that point, let rip with a monstrous guitar solo, equal parts finesse and garage rock intensity. Greep had to tip his hat, and he briefly left the stage as the keyboardist delivered an atmospheric solo before the band returned for an instrumental cover of ACDC’s Jailbreak and a set of stop-start shared solos and themes that had the crowd out of breath. As Greep finished with a quieter jazz guitar section, one punter shouted, “That’s all the chords.”

Naturally, it was on The Magician to be closer. This beautiful, softer track was an unreleased black midi holdover that has gradually morphed and expanded over time and is a fan favourite. Its slower pace welcomed a sublime keyboard solo, a mini symphony in its own right and the peak instrumental moment in a night full of them. Naturally, the tune finished on blasts of noise, the band unfurling along with our narrator’s mental state. It was the capstone to a great night of music with too many twists and turns to recall, and the sellout venue packed to the rafters was evidence of the rabid fandom that Greep’s creations command. We cannot wait to hear what Greep comes up with next, both on record and on the stage.

MATIJA ZIVKOVIC

Photos by Linda Dunjey