Midas Fall, Overhead, The Albatross & Civil Service - 33 Oldham St, Manchester (2/6/25)

Civil Service's opening number is twinkling post-rock. The guitar lines and electronic drumkit suggest a New Order influence although it is also still very much in Nordic Giants territory too. 'David Lynch Mob' starts off with more of an industrial feel before turning into punchy, uptempo post rock in the vein of Mogwai. The visuals give it a Nordic Giants feel too. The closing track features recorded vocals from Hidden Mothers which adds an extra dimension to their otherwise instrumental post-rock.

Overhead, The Albatross cram an awful lot into their sound; cut up samples, electronic noise, calypso guitar lines and mournful strings are all utilised as they craft beautifully compelling post-rock, and that's just the first song. 'At Sea' is like Mogwai on a bender in Ibiza and is fucking stunning. They remind me of Radiohead at their most experimental, and it's wildly exciting. The Hiroshima/Enola Gay footage hits like a hammer blow too. This is incredibly forward thinking, like Mogwai meets Burial. 'This Is Like Love' is dancefloor bhangra with crushing guitars reminiscent of Killing Joke added on top. The closing track 'Paul Lynch' has a heavy New Order or 808 State feel, and the final singalong with all the crowd joining in is stunning. I feel like I could pick 50 cds from my record collection and Overhead, The Albatross will still sound like a combination of all them. I honestly don't think I have the words to do them justice. Absolutely dazzling.

Midas Fall play heavy shoegaze. Elisabeth Heaton's voice is great, and it is strong enough to cut through the noise on the loud parts but is less audible when she sings much more quietly. The second track is tribal post rock with a cinematic Nordic Giants feel. The third track is pretty thrilling, with frantic, rhythmic drumming driving the track along at a terrific pace. 'Salt' has some nice guitar work whilst Elisabeth's voice echoes Bjork in certain moments. It's pretty hypnotic. Each song has it's own accompanying visuals and they are fantastic. One has oil refinery mechs which is pretty cool. The trippy, animated film which has the humans hooked up to TV screens who turn into animals and back again is ace. Elisabeth's voice has a nice rasp when she really opens up which is reminiscent of Pat Benatar. The tribal climax to the set is excellent. Overall, an excellent night of bands.

Midas Fall ****

Overhead, The Albatross *****

Civil Service ****