Issue 42 / March 2014

24
Bido Lito! March 2014
Reviews
music will deliver the right message regardless.
What’s truly impressive is how he reacts to each
track; on Heaven, How Long, he gently caresses
the microphone as he croons over the subdued
opening, but by the time the track erupts into its
frenzied outro he has become possessed, filling
the performance space with an impressive vigour.
He embodies his music without abandoning
his senses, which is evident when he casually
takes up the bass for a brief stint before tossing
it aside.
From start to finish, Doyle offers an intensely
personal experience that is too often lost in music
of this genre. It’s exhilarating from an outsider’s
perspective, yet even more wondrous once you
wade in. Closing with the staggering techno of
Hinterland, Doyle writhes over his instruments,
threatening to dismantle his set-up at times, such
is the energy behind his stage presence. East
India Youth is a jack of all trades who manages
to redefine the expression, by being remarkably
proficient at everything he touches.
Jack Graysmark / @ZeppelinG1993
TERA MELOS
Vasco Da Gama - Cleft - Glossom
You Do The Math @ The Kazimier
This sense of determination is also manifest
in the scale of sound Jupiter-C are trying to
achieve. The North-Westerner’s futuristic postpunk
is dazzling at times; Ashiya Eastwood’s
haunting vocals are soft at first, before suddenly
undercutting the throbbing bassline. Combined
with Daйd Kaиe’s vicious, scratching guitar, they
make tracks like Terminal successfully conjure
up impressive apocalyptic soundscapes. The
minimalist vibe requires all of your concentration,
but when you immerse yourself there are real
signs of promise.
You can’t help but be drawn in when you first
spot William Doyle, aka EAST INDIA YOUTH, for
rarely is isolation so eye-catching. A wave of
intrigue following the acclaim for his debut Total
Strife Forever has brought a diverse turnout
for tonight’s main event: a perfect fit for the
electronic buffet that Doyle serves up. Despite
the broad mix of musical styles, everything
falls easily into place. The versatility of Doyle’s
output helps keep the set engaging, meaning
that the crowd are just as likely to be excited
by the next track whether their preference is
ambient, krautrock or electro pop. Lord help
them if all three come at once, and in East India
Youth’s company this is entirely possible.
Opener Glitter Recession dazzles as a
Tera Melos (Gaz Jones / @GJMPhoto)
formidable instrumental, the twinkling pianos
becoming lost in a swarm of twisted electronics
that gradually rise to the forefront. Suddenly,
they melt away into Dripping Down, with
Doyle’s soft vocals floating on top of joyous
synths that gracefully rise and fall, dispersing
a sense of elation across Korova. Sadly, we are
not treated to the full four-part version of the
album’s ambient avant-garde title track; instead
Doyle treats us to tantalising tasters, scattered
throughout the set to mimic how they appear
on the album.
Totally engrossed, Doyle refrains from
speaking to the audience, confident that his
As we all know by now, the Kaz excels at
hosting nights featuring the more… avant-garde
artists and tonight is such an occasion, with a
whole night of that oft-misunderstood beast:
math rock. Opening to an already packed room,
GLOSSOM paint the stage with a set dedicated
to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman; some
drums there, keyboards here and a smattering
of brass hither and thither. What could easily be
math-rock-by-numbers gets some much-needed
tension thrown in between Gareth Dawson’s
intricate drums and Anthony Kastelanide’s
innervated, billowing voice which floats above
the ska/funk/ambient melange on tracks like
You Did It Yourself.
Hot on their tail are Manc duo CLEFT; and
where Glossom go for subtle interplay, Cleft
go for queasy funk. Where Glossom go for
emotional rawness, Cleft go for awkward allout
aural assault. It’s amazing how much sheer
squall and damn funk they squeeze out of such
a sparse set-up of simply drums and guitar.
The big news of the night is that this is local
heroes VASCO DA GAMA’s last-ever gig (boooo!).
But what a retrospective to have as their
swansong; they are as ebullient as ever when
running the gamut of their small but pristine
catalogue, from the first song they ever recorded
through to Long Ships, Massive Hands and
beyond. Scrappy guitars abound; intertwined
and twisted until you can’t tell where one ends
and the next begins – much like the band, who
are as dynamic onstage as we’ve come to expect.
Sadly, before you know it their time has come
and after some (jokey) platitudes and tears we
bid farewell to Vasco for good – Godspeed!
bidolito.co.uk