Support act was the Norwegian noise rock trio Deathcrush. Their homeland media already labeled them as 'filthy nowave for dirty sluts and horny bastards'. And sure enough, during the first song the blonde lead singer crashed into the crowd, randomly throwing herself at people, oblivious to the fact that both the timing and the ambience were keeping her from getting away with that. After a benefit-of-the-doubt start their performance bogged down in a haze of noise (not necessarilly the good kind) and store-bought smoke, to the point they actually vanished - quite a trick to perform in a room as small as the AB Club. The threesome concluded a fairly conventional show with a blast and that was once again to be taken literally as the blonde one threw herself at the crowd again. I guess it's rock'n roll and all, but I can't help but feel that it would gain some credibilty in a setting that was actually waiting for something like that. All in all Deathcrush failed to really connect with the audience (despite colliding with it). Their music is about as subtle as their name leads on to believe and their act lacks maturity. A supplementary half star though because the unintentional comic relief during their act made me smile.
Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells is Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss, who met by concidence when Miller was looking for a female vocalist for his new musical project. The two hit it off and the new band was born. Their 2010 debut Treats - produced by M.I.A. on whose N.E.E.T. label they were signed - made it to many a year-end-list (including my own) and their roaring noise pop with electronic and metal influences earned them a spot as one of last years hottest newcomers. As was to be expected the Brooklyn-based duo took a roaring start with 'Infinity Guitars', their second single. 'Kids' and 'Tell 'Em' continued the inferno of pop, raw guitars and electronics. In short Sleigh Bells reduces noise pop to its pure essence: noise and pop. That analysis might sound as profound as it does retarted, but it's the simple truth. With 'Rill Till' the band paused for a minute, but the song fell short of being a fullgrown cool-off song since it was basically just Krauss singing to the backtrack. It was the only soar spot in their live performance and a small one at that, because everything else was right on the mark: Krauss was in great shape, silent force Miller pushed his guitar to the limit and the energy of the show was amazing. Grand finale - of course - was 'Crown On The Ground', one of their best songs and a veritable musical cluster bomb of a track. An earsplitting conclusion to a 35-minute live show, followed by zero encores. Sleigh Bells treated us to a short, but intense live rendition of their debut album. No more, no less.
0 comments:
Post a Comment