Zero—the year-old lovechild of Cardiff Uni students Joel, Luke, Lily, and Toby. I was first introduced to their sound (self-described as “aggressively put-together”) through mutual contacts, and they live up to that moniker through a mix of grunge and alt rock that gives an idea of the kind of young sound that is taking over Cardiff’s extensive music scene.

Live at rock nightclub Fuel on Cardiff’s Main Street, they gave an electric performance, sinking claws into an audience with their energetic and fast-paced set, on a stage that is favoured by the likes of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson. “It’s easy to perform to a crowd that matches your energy”, lead singer Luke says, looking just as comfortable in the studio than he did on the stage; mic in one hand and a shot in the other. The four members of Zero have tangible chemistry as a group, feeding each other’s energy on and off the stage. They open with a cracking one-liner, and that pretty much sets the tone for the whole interview—thirty minutes of banter between friends with some raw honesty in the middle, much like the set that introduced me to them.

Starting a band as a student, at least for these guys, seems to have come around by fate—or maybe a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Toby and Luke both doing a master’s in sustainable engineering after geography for undergrad, Joel, a third-year physics student, and Lily, studying sound engineering. A shared passion for music and some well-placed rehearsal times brought them together. They might seem an unlikely ensemble, but coming from “having done nothing before”, their dive straight into the Cardiff music scene seems seamless, playing their first gig at Tiny Rebel last February in support of the School of Music.

Since Tiny Rebel, they have played at Paradise Gardens, Fuel, and the Foundry Social (formerly Gassy’s) open mic night. Admitting that they were probably too sober for their liking at Paradise Gardens, one of their least favourite live appearances, they spoke of the challenges to balance their commitments to uni work and the band: “we wore ourselves out”.

For them, gigs are “crowd dependent”, their night at Fuel upping the energy compared to their last gig. They are a band who like to feel in tune with the mood, saying “if the audience is feeling it as well then you get more confident”.

Despite a united front, when it comes to venues, Zero finds room for disagreement. Lily names Tiny Rebel as her favourite, stating the intimacy and close proximity of the crowd creates stronger connections with their performance. Luke, Toby, and Joel, however, prefer Fuel, despite its sticky floor. The historic bond between the Fuel stage and rock music is deeply forged, making it a natural home base for the band, and the proper stage also gives them a sense of professionalism and ups the performance when playing.

Looking to the future, Luke said: “we are all so close—I see us hopefully getting more gigs, and me and toby have spoken about releasing an EP or an album, I think it will be a case of seeing where that goes, seeing what happens with that, seeing if we can get on some radios and try to start playing festival—that’s one of my dreams.” And as they develop as a band, Zero say we can expect fewer covers and more originals. “I’d like for us to get to the point where we’re only playing our own music, with the odd cover here and there as a crowd pleaser kind of thing”, says Toby. Currently, their sets consist of mostly covers, but the one of their two originals I heard was definitely reminiscent of their musical inspirations, Alice in Chains and Guns N’Roses enclose a ’90s grunge feel.

So why should people pay attention to them? “Listen to us because we are currently a niche”, they say. “In Cardiff right now there’s a lot of indie bands and a lot of heavy bands but there’s nothing in the middle—there’s not many bands that play what we play”, says Lily.

With a developing sound and confident identity, Zero are surely an exciting addition, and their growing identity in the Cardiff grassroots music scene is proving to be one to watch. You can see them live at their next performance on the 21st of November at Fuel, and decide for yourself.

Image by @kbc_cams