Photo: Sofi Eln
When an artist builds their own effects pedals and distributes them to all the right creators on the music scene, as Oliver Ackermann, lead-singer with A Place To Bury Strangers does, perhaps protecting your ear drums against the force that these fierce tools could unleash would be your first stop before catching them live. Those familiar with the Brooklyn trio may have taken these necessary precautions but judging by the quantity of jaw-dropping and statues appearing among the crowd, there are those who have just stumbled upon this well of noise in London’s Barfly tonight.
As the structured turbulence erupts, dragging with it the shadows of Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Joy Division into the present light of the naughties, Oliver’s vocals tread water amid the murky, multi-layered depths of distortion, which is so thick it appears as though the band are accompanying themselves at times. The intensity builds until the singer crouches over his guitar, his hands a blur as he strikes it then sucks the lead in his mouth until the sounds have enveloped all bodies in the room and can go no further.
Suddenly, a maypole appears and young indie-prog professor, Samuel Dust and his band of synth-wielding merry men induce much ribbon grappling among the crowd as their intergalactic opera begins with new (re-recorded) single, 'Space And The Woods'.
Never mind tonight’s Levi’s tag, nor the banal ‘next Klaxons’ motif that has been stamped all over this Castle Donington four piece, Late Of The Pier have been Ones To Watch since their Zarcorp demos first sprouted online long before Erol Alkan’s involvement. Not content with the unearthly shaped dancing displayed by the already foaming-at-the-mouth crowd, the band encourage a circle pit around the maypole to the robotic-scratches and sporadic beats of 'Bears Are Coming', perhaps a nod to their monster of rock origins. Despite every effort from the audience, no moves can compete with the rabid hand jerking, pirouettes and tambourine shaking acrobatics from synth maestro, Jack Paradise. As his fingers travel in a flurry along his Roland it’s a wonder there’s no smoke protruding during the excessive melodics of new track, 'Focker'.
While singer Samuel remains blasé at the best of times, his vocals express an intriguing untamed nature as he animates the Pier’s bizarre tales, particularly in epic odyssey, 'Bathroom Gurgle'. His voice roams the realms between droid drones and banshee wails, proving that while there is no doubt these boys dance to the beat of their own irregular drum, there are many willing to embrace these beats and dance this colourful journey into the unknown.
