Ditz

OndaRock attended the Rome and Bologna dates of the 2026 tour by Ditz, staged to showcase the excellent “Never Exhale”, their sophomore effort released at the start of last year, and follow-up to the fine “The Great Regression” (2022), which helped launch their rise and carve out a space for them in the overcrowded (post-)post-punk landscape, with its noise-inflected and neighbouring territories.

Rome, 09/04/2026

by Mauro Vecchio

Trailed for weeks by popular Rome-based station Radio Rock, the much-anticipated Ditz show sells out on a mild Thursday evening at Monk Club on Via Mirri. Opened by the usual energy of Roman alt-rock band Jennifer In Paradise, the Brighton group take the stage to thunderous applause about twenty minutes past 10pm, with androgynous frontman Cal Francis immediately established as the star of the show in his new-glam superstar mise. But it's a deliberately misleading outfit, because this sensational English band is a machine built for sonic nightmares, sparked into life by the intro “V70” and pushed straight into overdrive by the bewitching dance-punk march of “Taxi Man”, which sends the Monk crowd into an early boil.

Francis dives into the crowd to be carried aloft by dozens of arms, before launching into the terrifying post-post-punk of “Four”, another highlight from the excellent “Never Exhale”, released last year to lavish praise from the specialist press. Now approaching a decade of activity, Ditz have shrewdly carved out their place within the vein of sound popularised by bands like Idles, while still leaning closer to the disturbed madness of lesser-known-on-a-global-scale acts such as Gilla Band.

"God On A Speed Dial" explodes into a violent racket, while the claustrophobic "The Warden" revisits that interpolian riff over Francis's desperate vocal delivery. The singer is the focus of everyone's attention as he plants the mic stand into the gaps in the Monk's ceiling, letting the mic cables dangle down before launching into the industrial-hardcore obsessions of "Ded Würst". From the thundering bass of "hehe" to the noise dissonances of "Teeth", the Ditz show is a crescendo of sinister atmospheres blinded by white lights blasted straight at the crowd.

It settles on the ferocious riff of "Clocks", before the deflagration of "Senor Siniestro" and the calmer gothic textures of "The Body As A Structure". Francis announces the final songs to the crowd, met with general disappointment: "Oh, but we'll be back soon," he promises the Roman audience. The band toys with obsessive, distorted electronics on "Riverstone", followed by the dark punk swagger of "Seeking Arrangement" and the final charge of "No Thanks, I'm Full", a martial bombardment that leaves everyone breathless. "Passed with flying colours," comments one spectator on the way out, after more than an hour of music that was literally red-hot.

Bologna, 12/04/2026

by Martina Vetrugno

For this writer, this is the third time I've found myself, by chance or by design, in the presence of the band led by Cal Francis, by now perfectly aware that I'll leave the venue wrecked and, above all, satisfied — the perfect mood for a rainy Sunday evening, and the right way to kick off the new week. Despite the weather and the (inevitable) various traffic headaches, around the Covo Club (strictly sold-out) the anticipation for the Brighton quintet was palpable a full hour before doors opened.

In the support slot, with just under two handfuls of songs, were submeet from Mantua, fresh off the release of “codename” (2025), from which they performed most of the tracks, starting with the destructive noise/post-hc mix of “apiary”, a recipe blended with the unhinged gaze shards of the following “water memory”, a genuine homage to the DIY ethos, which on record features none other than Giovanna Cacciola of Uzeda. Further highlights come from “another turing test”, which partly echoes the “War” of Joe Talbot and co., and the intricate “leg day”. In the final rush, the granite-hard bass of “BGY” stands out, taken from the debut “Terminal”, leading into a swift close handed over to “decameron”.

Aside from a few passages that were perhaps a touch too rushed, the trio's set was a solid showing that confirms their quality and authenticity.

A figure as charismatic as he is unpredictable, Francis wades into the crowd from the very first moment — that is, right at the opening notes of “V70”, the prelude to the bellicose bass-and-drums attack of “Taxi Man”, where the artist crowd-surfs over the audience's heads, ramping up further with the red-hot atmosphere of “Four” and the industrial-leaning roar of “God On A Speed Dial”.

At this point comes an entirely new, unreleased track, scrawled by hand onto the setlist and titled “Death Whistle” (played in place of “Riverstone”), moving between goth flourishes and noisy post-hc surges, its finale dominated by an Aztec-style whistle (a type nicknamed the “death whistle” for its scream-like sound) used by Francis — proof that the band are currently experimenting and working on new material.

On “The Warden”, whose guitar lines seem in step with 2000s post-punk, there's a chance to catch one's breath slightly and brace for the countless pits unleashed by the ever-loaded gem “Ded Würst” and the thunderous “hehe” and “Teeth”. One unexpected pairing stands out: the brooding build of “Britney” and the welcome, dark, lengthy experimental-rock standalone single “Don Enzo Magic Carpet Salesman”, released last October.

Leading into the close are the breathtaking pauses and horror-tinged guitar riffs of “The Body As A Structure”, among the strongest tracks on the sophomore album, and the by-now evergreen “No Thanks, I'm Full”. The acoustics at the Casalone may not always be the best suited to noise-oriented bands, but with a performance like the one just described, any technical rough edges are pushed not just into the background, but well out of sight.

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