A variation of this review can be found on rockflesh.com.
Tonight is the Manchester show of what Gavin McInally of the 2 Promoters, 1 Pod podcast is calling the tour of year, bringing together three acts that they rave about on the podcast. He is also putting his money where his mouth is too as he is the promoter of tonight's show which has been upgraded from the much smaller Academy 3.
The rise of Dimscua is an amazing story. Originally formed by a group of friends a few years ago, it became an outlet for grief following the death of the guitarist's daughter. Their self-released album was raved about on the podcast and a few hundred listeners on Spotify grew to ten thousand and resulted in spots at Arctangent and Damnation festivals.
The headliner's equipment means that Dimscua are all confined to the front of the stage, the drummer included. The steady build of opener 'Elder Bairn' gradually gets heavier and heavier. This is post-metal in the vein of Cult Of Luna or Amenra but the real skill is how they mix shimmering post-rock guitar lines in with it to add some real beauty to balance the weight. There is some awful feedback a couple of times during the opener but it doesn't derail them or lessen the impact. 'Dust Eater' follows a similar pattern, with clean guitar lines which are then joined by the other instruments, building in magnitude until it erupts in a blinding, white hot intensity. They create a hypnotic groove but it's the frequent use of melodic guitars which makes them special. Alex Rowlands' harsh roar acts as a further counterweight to the melody.
They only have four songs so their 'Dust Eater' album is played in its entirety. 'Existence (Futility)' is punishing from the start with its choppy, tempestuous riff. The band rock back and forth in unison and the crowd mirrors them. Alex seems much more confident and commands the audience better than he did at Damnation. The gentle guitar and spoken vocals on 'On Being And Nothingness' give way to a tremendously heavy climax. Post-metal is a relatively simple genre as it tends to follow a pattern which builds to a climax but it isn't that easy to get right as often the journey doesn't take you where you want it to. However, Dimscua make it look like childs play and they are greeted like conquering heroes by the growing crowd as they leave the stage.
Overhead, The Albatross open with 'Your Last Breath', with its gentle guitars, twinkling electronics and strings. They are playing with a stand in drummer Ryan and his drumming seems more jazz influenced, meaning it initially lacks the power it normally has but after a couple of minutes it feels more natural and the intuitive nature of the drumming becomes a real benefit as the set progresses. The way they pull on your emotions is their key strength and the spoken word section is delivered with passion and is devastating. The bassist is always active on stage but tonight he is matched by the guitarists who all seem really up for it. They are incredibly forward thinking and progressive and the end result is something akin to Radiohead if they were a post-rock band. The 'begging the pain to stay' refrain of 'At Sea' is shattering. The pounding rhythm and stream of consciousness rapped delivery of 'Hibakusha' is really powerful, and the rhythmic throb of the climax is incredible. The visuals don't have the same impact as usual as they are projected onto a sheet way back from where they are playing and look tiny as a result. Even the Hiroshima/Enola Gay footage doesn't have the same impact.
The lyrics are incredibly raw and vulnerable as shown on 'I've Got A Few Years Left'. The main singer Luke Daly takes centre stage for this and the almost breakbeat section is stunning. The bhangra flavoured 'This Is Like Love' is mind blowing. Established electronic acts like 808 State or Orbital would kill for a song like this. All these songs are anthems of loss and are incredibly moving but the closing 'Paul Lynch' is something else, and the final singalong (aided by the lyrics on screen) is unbelievably cathartic. I've seen them better but Overhead, The Albatross are still a pretty astonishing band.
Any notions that We Lost The Sea will have trouble following that are immediately dispelled as guitarist Mark Owen appears on stage alone and plays the simple, repeating guitar motif of opener 'If They Had Hearts'. Even with just a single instrument, it is clear that there is more weight than the studio recordings and it is magnetic. The rest of the band appear and the layers they add create extra depth and make something simple seem wildly progressive and expansive. They are extremely cinematic; the opening section of 'A Dance With Death' plays out like the soundtrack to the denouement of a thriller where the major plot twist is about to be revealed. It is incredibly dramatic and is only enhanced by the moody stage lighting. They generate volume and power in similar way to Mogwai in a live setting and they are easily the heaviest of the three bands tonight which is a major surprise, although that is probably to be expected with three guitarists. The records are captivating but they do not suggest anything near this level of potency and the crowd are responding by moving in a way I didn't expect. The pounding beat in the middle of 'Everything Here Is Black And Blinding' is rousing and even gets people dancing.
There is no frontman to stir up the crowd but it doesn't really matter as each member is lost in their own playing, standing on the risers when the moment takes them and it is captivating. The heartfelt melodic playing in the middle of tracks such as 'A Beautiful Collapse' and 'A Gallant Gentleman' adds different textures and completely pulls on your emotions which is no mean feat for an instrumental band. These are all lengthy compositions but each song flies by. 'Bogatyri' has a Lynchian dark, brooding atmosphere which builds to a euphoric crescendo before the band leave the stage.
The encore is audacious as they choose to play the twenty seven minute long 'Blood Will Have Blood'. It has multiple highlights and never gets boring. There are sweeping, almost galloping sections which are exhilarating and they have a stadium rock sensibility in these moments which shows what they could be if they didn't write twenty minute plus songs, not that they care about such things. The peaks they are able to reach with their music are incredible. Liam Knowles from Hidden Mothers joins the band onstage for the unbelievably heavy post-metal of early track 'Balaklava Cold' which garners an ecstatic reaction from the crowd. It may not be the tour of the year but it will certainly be a contender. Absolutely amazing.
We Lost The Sea *****
Overhead, The Albatross ****
Dimscua ****
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