Motion Colour Seen

Some of this was not published in the latest Nightshift, presumably for reasons of space. Inevitably, it was the more negative elements that were omitted, so if you're craving some light criticism, you're in luck, bucko.

MOVEMENTS, Bully/ Truck Store/ Library/ James St Tavern, 14/2/26 

Mount St Helen open this multi-venue all-dayer, but they may also have opened a black hole in the corner of The Bully, so huge and dense is their sound. From a rich drone swelling behind malleted cymbals at the outset the music continues to build constantly, as do the blinding and intricately programmed strobes. The ostensible reference point might be the blustery noughties indie of Editors and Interpol, but really they’re more like the most intense chunks of Mogwai colliding epically with the vastest peaks of Waters-era Floyd. Talk about stadium-ready, Mount St Helen make Kanadia look like a back-yard skiffle combo, and in Aris they have a born frontman from whom it’s hard to look away.  

Down the road at Truck Store, Philippe Nash’s mournful grunge-influenced balladry is a strong contrast, with spidery guitar twisting around sepulchral cello. Their final number reminds us of Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way’, and is rather lovely. Later in the same room, Mazawattee’s stripped back acoustic pop is also delightful, with a brace of excellent vocalists, and if their breezy songs are only an artisanal macchiato away from ‘Kumbaya’ they’re still the band whose tunes we’re humming at the bus stop hours later. Genevieve Miles offers a similarly light and airy set of pop tunes at the Bully, albeit in a somewhat chunkier format, with plenty of guitar and keyboard to bolster the sound. She has a pleasingly pure, smiling voice that reminds us of Edie Brickell, but the overall effect is cloying after a while. Perhaps this is music best experienced in a sunny festival field, not on a cold February afternoon, even one warmed by the romance of Valentine’s Day, as about a third of the acts jokily point out (you’re right, this does get old very quickly). Joining them in camp Fine But Forgettable are Fawlers, who open The Library’s stage with a set of cohesive and well played tracks with a mid-90s feel – are they Foo Fighters playing Shed Seven, or Cast channelling Semisonic? - that would probably make someone’s day but which fails to make any meaningful impression on us. 

Objectively, Slow Lane and Suspire aren't as good, being messier round the edges and less fully formed, but both have enough character to make them far more fun. The former bring a shoegaze fuzz and just a dash of Stone Roses swager to their chunky rock whilst the latter bundle through their songs with the energy of a good-natured punch-up behind a youth club. No such criticism could be made of Premium Leisure, probably the most skilled set of musicians on the bill, who could doubtless play anything. We suppose with that much talent on tap they might stretch further than lightly countryish jams and 70s AM rock that falls between Gram Parsons and Three Dog Night, but it’s still an enjoyable ride, especially the breathy vocals which evoke both Marc Bolan and Evan Dando. Bristol’s Grack Mack & The Pack could challenge Premium Leisure in a battle of the chops though, and we love the complex but restrained jazz patterns the drummer brings to their smooth folky pop, as well as the strident yet soft singing which is pure Dolores O’Riordan. We just wish the band could let themselves go and be a little less bloody nice and bleeding tasteful. Hopefully they popped down to the James Street Tavern to see Max Blansjaar, another act peopled with technically top-notch musicians, but whose set is, as ever, bursting with tunes and charm. 

Also at James Street are Shock Horror, a band we’ve loved watching evolve from grunge slobs through slacker experimentalists to the assured act we see today, making music that is spacious and controlled, introspective but in your face, angular and enveloping by turns. At one point a taut, chilly rhythm reminds us of cerebral post-rockers Ui, which we never would have predicted from the band’s early shows. Tonight they surprisingly have more in common with Baby Maker than you might expect. Ruairi Kester has added a second member to the band – it takes two to make babies, as he points out – but the set retains the understated wit and low-slung grooves of the solo shows. Sometimes the music sounds like a bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived take on industrial - Up-All-Nightzer Ebb, perhaps – whereas at others there’s an impressive head-nodding groove under the lo-fi, nerdy exterior, and crowd favourite ‘Rather Be In Berlin’ sounds like a band we’ve invented called Sebadub. More explicitly infectious dancefloor action from a very different duo, No Worries If Not, who meld sleek French house and vibrant Italo disco with very English smut and irony. Every onstage movement, every eyebrow arch is meticulously planned and choreographed, but they still exude joyful energy. 

A contender for favourite set of the day comes from Manchester’s Sweet Gene. Their drummer sports a Geese T-shirt, and like that feted band they take vintage Radiohead vibes, throw in a bit of Talking Heads artfulness, and then hone the resultant alloy ruthlessly to a razor’s edge – if this set were a physical entity, you wouldn’t be allowed to take it through airport security. We love exciting, unexpected new music forms, but sometimes a rock fourpiece playing like their lives depend on it in a tiny pub basement is more than enough. We’re not sure exactly what the name Movements implies, but Sweet Gene certainly made our heart beat faster (you’re right, a Valentine’s Day joke here would have been cheesy).