_____________
PIJN
A bit of a congratulations is in order for Pijn (is that pronounced like pigeon?), as it turns out this opening slot for Pelican was only their second ever show! I never would have guessed it from how confidently they performed. This Manchester based trio suitably play (mostly) instrumental techy Post-Metal with Post Rock elements.
In true Post Rock style, their set began softly, dominated by clean textured guitars and interesting, eerie chords. Whilst the band were no strangers to using guitar hum and feedback, their performance wasn't overly heavy or noisy, allowing for a nice contrast between soft and loud tones. Pijn's use of complex time signatures and chords really struck out as their trademark. In particular their drummer (who was physically centre stage) was the most interesting to watch, providing a bundle of energy. On one song he even switched to playing keyboards during a calmer passage of their music, and spoken word samples were also implemented.
When it came to their final song, Pijn turned into a very different beast. Their music drastically grew in intensity and heaviness, drawing closer to the Post-Metal sound of headliners Pelican. The drums became much faster and choppier, with cymbal battering and varied fills fleshing out the songs. Their guitarist really lost himself towards the end of the show, headbanging away and even adding screaming vocals over the ferocious chugging Sludge riffs. With vocals being used so sparingly in their set, I don't think they were even necessary. If Pelican can do instrumental Metal with great conviction, then so can Pijn. Regardless, this was a very impressive finale that left a lasting impression in my head.
Looking back on their performance, it makes sense that Pijn are newcomers to the local music scene. They tried out a lot of different ideas, beginning the show calmly with a lack of punch, and then later going all out Metal. Pijn still sound like a band who are trying to find their sound and their unique stamp, but regardless, they coped extremely well with being thrown in the deep end, even covering well during a guitar malfunction. Pijn seem like they are exactly where they should be, and hopefully they will just get better and better. 7/10.
_____________
MUGSTAR
Mugstar are a Heavy Psyche trio from Liverpool and rumour has it that they have been shortlisted for Mogwai's Rock Action label. Aurally and numerically, this trio sat perfectly between the sounds of Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips. They performed very loud, noisy and repetitive psyched out grooves, making them less suited to the bill than openers Pijn were.
They kicked in with chuggy Stoner grooves, with one repetitive riff cycling over. The two guitarists were often performing fast tremolo style to achieve a dense fuzzy sound. Unfortunately I found throughout the set that there was so much fuzz and feedback that almost everything else in their sound was completely drowned out. At first I thought it could have been a sound mix issue, but the other two bands did not suffer from any major problems. Frequently their guitarist would also add vocals, but because there was so much reverb on the mic it left the vocals practically inaudible during their set, taking something away from their sound. Their energetic drummer added some excitement to the mix, but with their music being so repetitive, more fills and surprises would definitely have benefited. One song did add in keyboards, giving much need depth and texture to the sound, but I didn't hear the keys again after that one song, making me wonder why they don't use a permanent keyboardist. Mugstar ended on a finale that sounded like an instrumental version of "Goo" era Sonic Youth, but they still felt hindered by a lack of varying ideas. 
Unfortunately hearing these pitfalls in sound across their entire set lead to a pretty boring live experience, but it was more than just sound problems hindering Mugstar tonight. Having enjoyed seeing the aforementioned bands such as Wooden Shjips in concert, it felt like Mugstar were pulling too far into one direction and not enough in the other. Too much constant feedback and reverb gave the trio a very wishy washy sound that just felt like it was causing a wall between the crowd and the band, like trying to watch a film through a cloud of thick smog! With songs built on a lot of repetition, it was quite boring, tedious and self indulgent listening to such a one-sided affair. Mugstar forgot to perform with any feeling or excitement, and the end result felt like I was watching a band having a long jam in their rehearsal room, not playing a show to a paying crowd. Considering I enjoy this kind of Psychedelic Rock, Mugstar's performance gave me absolutely no joy tonight. 4/10.
_____________
PELICAN
The Chicago based instrumental Post-Metallers took me on a bit of a nostalgia trip tonight, to a time 10 years ago when I would blast out their first three releases "Pelican", "Australasia" and "The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw" religiously during my college days. Back then their sound was so fresh, with only Neurosis, Cult of Luna and Isis really above them in this subgenre. 10 years later, other bands such as Bossk, Russian Circles and Amenra have caught up and evolved that sound. Could Pelican still recapture the excitement that blew me away 10 years ago?
Immediately from the first song I was hit with a big grin on my face. After a wall of escalating feedback and drone, Pelican cut abruptly into a mid tempo chugging frenzy. They began their set with a couple of their faster tempo tracks, dominated by spellbounding palm muted riffs. Straight away I was struck by how colossal their sound was. I could feel every rumble of the bass travelling through the floor and up my body, whilst the guitars sounded so smooth and chunky.
As the show went on they slowed the overall tempos down a peg, showcasing some of their darker, Doomier pieces. One of Pelican's trademarks is their complex song structures that add shifting dynamics to their metallic symphonies, drifting like tectonic plates. Unlike Post Rock's tendencies to start softly and build to heavy crescendos, Pelican are able to begin heavy and momentous, and somehow take you on a journey through complex time signatures and song structures that always throw in little surprises. With their lineup largely unchanged since their formation, their chemistry on stage is flawless, delivering mindboggling music with ease and comfort. When you hear Pelican, you don't at all feel like they are missing anything in their sound by not using vocals. Instead the harmonious and melodic guitars speak for themselves, adding pinches of noise and natural harmonics regularly to throw in new dashes of colour. But aside from that, Pelican know best how to hit you with earth shattering riffs. Their use of unusual chords make their riffs very special indeed, drifting that fine line between something that can make you bang your head, as well as make your heart flutter.
The only real negative in their performance tonight was that they mainly stuck to newer material. The teenager in me was screaming for early classics such as "NightEndDay", "March Into the Sea" and their iconic "Drought", which would have have seen the whole crowd lose their shit! With their "Australasia" album recently being re-praised by Fact Magazine, it was a shame that their classic, groundbreaking material was largely ignored by the band, teasing us with only it's 3 minute interlude track "GW" in the encore. The finale of "Mammoth" was lovely, but the newer material shows this band have grown up a lot since their inception. Fortunately their newer material was enough to carry a very exciting performance. 8/10.
_____________
May 3rd 2016 @ Gorilla, Manchester. Additional photos by Mel Hamilton.
No comments:
Post a Comment