Sygian Bough are a collaboration between Seattle funeral doom band Bell Witch and Portland's folk outfit Aerial Ruin. Stygian Bough is probably the name of the records rather than the outfit that recorded them but, hell, that's what I'm going to call them. They have recently released their second album, 'Stygian Bough II', to a great deal of acclaim. Bell Witch aren't exactly strangers to these parts, having played in the city a couple of times in the past two years. In addition, Stygian Bough have played in this city once before when they performed their first album in full at Damnation Festival in 2022. Familiarity with Bell Witch along with the relative rarity of a Stygian Bough release/show has helped to draw a decent crowd tonight.
40 Watt Sun's Patrick Walker is no stranger to Manchester either, having played Damnation festival in November with his other band, Warning. Tonight's performance is a stripped back solo acoustic show. The opening 'Colours' has some lovely, gentle guitar picking which is very soulful. Patrick's voice is just magical, touching the deepest parts of your soul. The solo setting seems to suit him as he is much more personable than usual, telling funny stories about going to the toilet at a show in full view of the audience with just frosted glass, how his girlfriend thinks one of his songs sounds like Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' and how 'Stages' goes on a bit. Patrick's voice soars on 'Pour Your Love'. Devoid of a full band and distortion, these tracks have a feel of a singer/songwriter like Ralph McTell. The slow motion 'Stages' has lots of negative space but it's what he does in between that matters and the crowd hangs on to every single word. The chord change about nine minutes in is incredible. Looking around the audience and you can see tears streaming down a number of faces, such is the emotional pull of these songs and, in particular, his voice. 'Marazion' is delayed and has an extended intro due to an incident in the crowd although I can't quite tell what is happening. It is cold and bleak yet Patrick's voice imbues it with warmth, and his delivery gets more impassioned towards the end. He gets an excellent reaction from the crowd but it is thoroughly deserved as it is stunning.
Stygian Bough are a completely different proposition. They crush from the very first note, which you can feel in your chest. It's very slow with plenty of space between each note but this gives you the opportunity to hear and savour every element: every drum beat, every note. There is a melancholic, yearning melody running through the guitar and vocal lines which makes the heavy parts more impactful. They balance light and shade masterfully. There are a number of cleaner passages which move into the devastatingly heavy parts. The vocals are great, ranging from damaged folk singing to something more expansive and spiritual.The new album is played in its entirety and it flows beautifully. Everything is played slowly but it has space to breathe and still has a certain energy despite the leaden pace. The guitarist Erik (the man behind Aerial Ruin) has two bottles on stage and watching them dance as a result of the vibrations during the heavier parts is fascinating. The fragile opening of 'From Dominion' is more in line with Erik's solo output but when the distortion kicks in, it is earth shaking. The transitions from quiet to loud are glorious. Drummers are usually lauded for how fast they can play but here every beat is hit hard and with purpose, and Jesse does so much more as he also controls other elements of their sound with his feet. It is incredibly impressive. The organs help 'From Dominion' sound epic whilst the bass tone is colossal during 'The Told And The Leadened'. These are long songs played at a funereal pace but the dynamics are such that it never gets boring. Utterly spellbinding.
Stygian Bough *****
40 Watt Sun *****
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