Fresh from signing with Republic of Music, The Heat Inc. returned to the stage with a fierce, tightly wound performance that signals serious intent ahead of their forthcoming third album Tom Bleasdale’s Car And Other Attractions, due this September.
The Heat Inc. @ The Dublin Castle
Arriving early offered a glimpse of rising support act Hypoxic Angels, a teenage garage-punk outfit brimming with attitude and irreverent charm. Their set was a riot of loose, chaotic energy, tearing through Girls Girls Girls with reckless abandon before diving into a string of covers. A particularly raucous take on Sick—complete with theatrical gagging noises—captured their tongue-in-cheek spirit, while their rendition of Come And Get It felt knowingly provocative coming from such a young frontwoman.
The standout moment, however, came with their reworking of You Don’t Own Me, transformed into a bouncing, garage-punk stomp that nodded to the likes of Huggy Bear and The Runaways. Closing with a sneering You’re So Boring, they managed to win over much of the crowd with their mix of swagger and mischief.
When The Heat Inc. took to the stage, the tone shifted from playful to commanding. Opening with their self-titled anthem, frontman Jon Dodd delivered a near-spoken-word performance over a razor-sharp backing that immediately asserted control of the room. Little Knuckle Charlie followed, a frantic, high-octane burst powered by Maurizio Vitale’s relentless drumming, while Draw Blood For Proof combined urgency with theatrical flair, Dodd acting out lyrics as Nico Rigot’s bass rumbled menacingly beneath Marco Simoncelli’s slicing guitar work.
New material made a strong impression. Dead Pony Club, set for release as a single soon, carried the band’s signature intensity, bolstered by a simmering dual-guitar interplay between Simoncelli and Fabio Staffieri. True Romance pushed into darker territory, with Dodd delivering a raw, impassioned vocal performance that contrasted sharply with its cinematic namesake.
A return to earlier material with Your After Love Song brought a rare moment of melody-driven warmth, swelling into an almost anthemic singalong. Meanwhile, ’98 provided one of the set’s more unsettling highlights, its narrative weight underscored by crushing guitar textures that amplified its emotional tension.
Closing the night with Are You Incorporated?, the band blurred the line between performance and confrontation. Dodd descended into the crowd, turning the refrain into a demand rather than a question, as multiple false endings stretched the finale into a chaotic, celebratory climax complete with band introductions.
It was a performance that felt both precise and explosive—evidence that The Heat Inc. are sharpening their edge ahead of a busy summer and the release of what could be their most defining record yet.
Live review of The Heat Inc. @ The Dublin Castle, London by Simon Phillips on 8th April 2026. Photography by Louise Phillips.
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