Wednesday, 31 July @ Camden Assembly
In stock
Thursday
31 July, 2025
BLACK DOLDRUMS – The Final CMDN Show
A closing chapter with one of the most immersive bands in modern post-punk. Black Doldrums turn gigs into rituals - swirling shoegaze, gothic edge, and euphoric walls of sound. The perfect send-off.
Support from The Dead Zoo and Colour Me Blood Red
Our last CMDN gig. Be there.
-
June 06, 2025
Black Doldrums Camden Assembly July 31st – CMDN’s last gigIt’s the end of an era. After years of championing live music in the heart of Camden, spotlighting underground heroes, international icons, and homegrown legends – CMDN Live is coming to a close. One last gig. One final night of distortion, sweat, community, and catharsis. I still can’t believe I’m writing this.BUT there’s no better band to close the book than Black Doldrums.🎫 camden-live.com/tickets 🎸 THE FINAL CMDN GIG: BLACK DOLDRUMS @ CAMDEN ASSEMBLY | 31 JULYHailing from London, Black Doldrums are one of the UK’s most exciting sonic forces in the modern post-punk and shoegaze scenes. The trio: Kevin Gibbard (vocals/guitar), Sophie Landers (drums), and Matthew Holt (bass) don’t just play music; they conjure atmospheres. Their sound is a heady collision of gothic rock, reverb-heavy psychedelia, and hypnotic rhythms, creating what Rolling Stone calls “a mix of Gothic-rock and shoegaze sounds to die for.”Formed with a DIY spirit and deep reverence for the darker edges of rock history, Black Doldrums quickly found a cult following across Europe. Their 2022 debut album Dead Awake earned them critical acclaim, but it’s their sophomore LP, In Limerence (2024), that cemented their place as one of the genre’s most vital new voices. That album, praised by Louder Than War for its “lush yet glacial soundscapes” — pushes their sound to new depths, balancing intensity with eerie beauty. Onstage, they’re a force of nature.Landers’ drumming is primal and commanding – each beat a ritual. Holt’s basslines weave a brooding undercurrent of tension and drive. And Gibbard’s layered guitar textures spiral into the ether – melodic, distorted, euphoric.Their performances feel less like gigs and more like ceremonies. You don’t just hear Black Doldrums – you feel them. It’s the kind of immersive experience that’s drawn comparisons to Joy Division, Bauhaus, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine – but they’re not nostalgic. They’re future-facing, building on the past to forge their own haunting, beautiful path. Read more about last year’s gig here This July 31st, Black Doldrums return to Camden Assembly, exactly one year after they last turned it into a cathedral of sound. That night still echoes in our minds – and this time, it’s even more emotional. Because it’s not just another gig. It’s the last one. The last chance to experience CMDN Live in its rawest, loudest, most transcendental form.🖤 CMDN Live x Black Doldrums – The Final Show📍 Camden Assembly🗓️ Wednesday, 31 July 2025🕖 Doors: 7.30 PM🎟️ £13 advance / £15 on the door🎫 camden-live.com/ticketsWhat the press says about Black Doldrums:“A mix of Gothic-rock and shoegaze sounds to die for” — Rolling Stone“A fierce combination of post-punk, reverb, drone and melody” — Uncut“Youthful and ambitious contemporary rock ‘n’ roll” — Shindig!“Awe-inspiring… Black Doldrums create transient and euphoric dark post-punk.” — Louder Than WarIf you’ve ever felt the buzz of a Camden night crackling… come feel it one more time. Let’s raise a glass, raise the volume, and send with us this thing off in style.This is the final CMDN Live show. Be there. 🖤
Read more -
June 06, 2025
Black Doldrums at Camden AssemblyIt’s been a full year since Black Doldrums last took over Camden with their otherworldly sound – and the memory still lingers like smoke in the air. The trio: Kevin Gibbard (vocals/guitar), Sophie Landers (drums), and Matthew Holt (bass) – didn’t just play a show that night. They unleashed a sonic ritual, blending goth post-punk, shoegaze, and raw energy into an unforgettable experience that left the crowd mesmerised. And the best part is – we have got some exciting news: BLACK DOLDRUMS ARE BACK IN CAMDEN ON JULY 31ST AT THE CAMDEN ASSEMBLY!Get Tickets HereDo you remember last year’s gig? From the very first note, it was clear this wasn’t going to be just another gig. Landers’ tribal, relentless drumming didn’t just set the tempo – it commanded the room. Each beat felt primal, like a heartbeat vibrating through the floor, completely hypnotic. Holt’s melodic, brooding basslines filled the air with a dark, pulse, while Gibbard’s reverb-drenched guitar spiraled above it all, crafting euphoric, atmospheric textures that felt both razor-sharp and dreamlike.Together, they build something rare: a sound that’s simultaneously feral and graceful – “a fierce combination of post-punk, reverb, drone and melody” (Uncut). It’s the kind of performance that pulls you under and refuses to let go. This was one of our favourite CMDN gigs of the year, for sure – absolutely epic! The setlist pulled heavily from their 2022 debut album Dead Awake, a release that first earned them critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, Uncut, and Sonic Seducer. But it was their newer material from 2024’s In Limerence – an album Louder Than War praised for its “lush yet glacial soundscapes, ramping up with bursts of energy before dispersing and cascading into an ethereal depth” – that hit with the most visceral power. The new tracks sounded even bigger and bolder live, as though they were always meant to be experienced in a dark, sweaty room with the amps cranked up to eleven. It wasn’t long before the crowd was completely locked in, swaying between moments of quiet introspection and thunderous, heady release. A fan shouted, “I say Black Doldrums are bloody brilliant!” And honestly, no one could argue with that.Black Doldrums have built a reputation on intensity. Their sound is a contemporary take on gothic post-punk – visceral, atmospheric, and utterly immersive. Gibbard’s introspective, often brooding lyrics are wrapped in euphoric, almost hallucinogenic guitar textures, framed by Landers’ overwhelmingly vicious, hook-laden drum work. The result? A modern-day reimagining of shoegaze and dark post-punk that nods to the past while blazing its own path. As Shindig! puts it – “youthful and ambitious contemporary rock ‘n’ roll.” If you’re a fan of Bauhaus, Joy Division and generally 80s Goth Post-Punk this is the band you need to see live. Black Doldrums tap into that same haunting, primal energy – the kind that makes the room feel like it’s shifting dimensions around you.Even those who walked in without knowing the band left transformed. You could see it in their faces – a mix of awe and adrenaline. This wasn’t just a gig. It was a sonic experience that hit the body and soul in equal measure. Black Doldrums didn’t just play – they performed, in the truest sense of the word, blurring the line between band and atmosphere. The best part? They’ll be back with us very soon – and trust us, if you missed this one, you really won’t want to make that mistake again. SEE YOU ON JULY 31ST AT THE CAMDEN ASSEMBLY!Get Tickets Here🎧 “A mix of Gothic-rock and shoegaze sounds to die for” — Rolling Stone🎧 “A fierce combination of post-punk, reverb, drone and melody” — Uncut🎧 “Youthful and ambitious contemporary rock ‘n’ roll” — Shindig!🎧 “Awe-inspiring… Black Doldrums create transient and euphoric dark post-punk.” — Louder Than War All Images by Max Nicoll at Camden Assembly, March 2024
Read more -
June 06, 2025
The End Of An Era: Camden Live Takes a Break After SummerThis is the blog post we never wanted to write.After this summer, Camden Live will be taking a break – and it’s with incredibly heavy hearts that we share this with you: our community, our artists, our team, and everyone who’s ever come to a gig, played our stage, or supported what we do.We started Camden Live out of pure love. Love for the music. Love for Camden. Love for the thrill of a live set that shakes your chest and sticks in your memory for years. Our mission has always been to keep that spirit alive – to spotlight raw talent, bring people together, and keep Camden’s heart beating loud!CMDN Live has been more than a gig series – it’s been a community forged through sweat, raw energy, and the unshakable spirit of Rock’n’Roll. Live music isn’t just what we do – it’s the pulse that keeps us going, the fire we’ve poured ourselves into and the connection we’ve cherished sharing with all of you. We’ve hosted over 200 shows since 2020 with over 500 bands, brought new talent into the spotlight, and made space for people to connect over the raw, irreplaceable energy of live music! We’ve watched new bands blow away their first crowds, seasoned legends return to the roots, and strangers become a crowd – a community – in front of a live stage.But the truth is: live music is struggling right now.Across the UK – and here in London especially – venues are closing, audiences are shrinking, and the scene is being squeezed. Costs are rising, attention spans are dwindling, and people just aren’t turning out like they used to. It’s not about blame. It’s about a very real and painful shift happening right now.For us, live music has never been a business-first operation – it’s been about passion. About soul. About building something with love and running it with grit. But no matter how much we care (and we care deeply), we’ve reached a point where it’s just not financially viable to keep going – at least not right now, and not in the way we believe this should be done.We’re devastated. Because music isn’t just something we like – it’s who we are. It’s how we connect, how we dream, how we breathe. There’s nothing in the world like the energy of a live show. It’s real, unfiltered, communal – and it’s the kind of experience that we believe makes life worth living.To see that kind of beauty struggle… it breaks our hearts.But we’re not walking away defeated. We’re pressing pause. Because even though things are hard, we believe in fighting for something right – and we hope this break gives us the space to figure out how we can keep that fight going.In the meantime, we’ve got three gigs left – and we’re asking you, truly, to come celebrate with us. Let’s go out with fire and joy and volume. Let’s honour what we’ve built together.Get Tickets HereLet’s Go Out the Camden Way — TogetherThese next three shows aren’t just gigs – they’re ours. Yours. Everyone’s. They’re a celebration of everything we’ve built together as the CMDN Live community: the artists, the crew, the regulars, the first-timers, the dancers, the screamers, the ones who stay ’til the lights come up and the guitars go silent.If you’ve ever joined our CMDN gigs and stood in a packed room in Camden and felt the bass in your chest, if you’ve ever discovered your new favourite band by accident, or had a pint with someone who just gets it – then you know why this matters. You’re one of us. And these final shows are for you.We’ve always said CMDN Live isn’t just about putting on gigs – it’s about making space for connection, chaos, and creativity. It’s about people coming together for something real. Something loud. Something you can’t stream or scroll past. And now, more than ever, we need to hold onto that.So join us. Come dance with us. Scream your lungs out. Discover a new band. Bring your mates, your neighbour, your weird cousin who used to play bass in a punk band – everyone’s welcome here. Let’s fill the room with love, volume, and Camden fire.🔹 June 27th @ The Dublin CastleCMDN Presents: Gigi Gold, Holly Harvey, Wild Talk, and Omega Bad – A glam-rock, alt-rock, blues-infused explosion of energy.Get Tickets Here🔹 July 18th @ The Dublin CastleCMDN Presents: Amann and The Wayward Sons, with support from The Deniros and Seven Red Lions – Anthemic BLUES rock with big heart and even bigger hooks.Get Tickets Here🔹 July 31st @ Camden AssemblyCMDN Presents: Black Doldrums, plus The Dead Zoo and Colour Me Blood Red – A dark, swirling finale of noise, psych, goth and post-punk mayhem.Get Tickets HereThis is it. The final three. For now. Let’s make them legendary.This community is the heart of Camden. You’ve kept this dream alive, show after show, and now we’re asking for one last surge of love before we take our break. Let’s light it up together.We’ll see you down the front.This has been the most beautiful ride. And it’s only been possible because of you. The fans, the bands, the crew, the venues, the scene. Camden Live isn’t just us – it’s all of us.So this isn’t goodbye. It’s just a pause. And we hope, with everything in us, that it won’t be for long.With love, heartbreak, and endless gratitude,Nila + the Camden Live crew
Read more
