Battles, Dirty Projectors & Fuck Buttons - Astoria, London - 14/5/08
5/5
By: Sam Crawford
Tonight's gig at the Astoria contains three bands who have had praise heaped on them by the music press over recent months for being fresh, exciting and different from the majority of current artists finding their way into the mainstream. When listening to their most recent studio offerings you find this praise is well deserved, with Bjork's appearance in the audience adding weight to the feeling that we're going to see some special performances tonight.
Fuck Buttons take to the stage first; two guys from Bristol who specialise in making experimental and largely electronic noise. They produce raw primeval sounds through complex methods; expertly utilising their array of synthesizers. Tracks like 'Ribs Out' create dark tribal sounds with the heavy beat of the floor standing drum, coupled with electronically modified vocals screeching over the top like unknown jungle creatures; at times sounding like the most gut wrenching screams delivered on Aphex Twin's 'Come to Daddy'.
Their sound is akin to imagining all the greatest war movies ever made and converting them to sound, while unsuccessfully trying to hold onto normality after taking too many trips. Yet although their music sounds disturbing and frightening, Fuck Buttons actually leave us feeling quite refreshed and upbeat, like we've just witnessed the birth of a new species. Maybe we have...
Dirty Projectors are up next, a band deftly led by the exceptionally talented Dave Longstreth, with the other members complimenting him with their remarkable musicianship. They throw folk, punk, choral and classical elements into their work, while the unconventional approach to their songs breathes invigorating new life into these styles, creating music with chaotic precision and captivating beauty. Their set is largely made up of tracks from their most recent album; Rise Above, which showcases an array of genres while breaking down the barriers that separate them.
Longstreth's voice rises and soars like it's being left to the whim of nature; carried by fitful gusts of wind; bringing comparisons to Jeff Buckley and Antony Hegarty. The two female members accompany with celestially vocal outpourings of pure-white enchantment. These sounds are often delivered over intricate guitar picking, with the brilliant 'Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie' highlighting this well. Think fields or brightly coloured roses, instantly rising, blooming, dying and regenerating over and over again. The ability of Dirty Projectors drummer Brian Mcomber is also impeccable; he manages his kit like he is presiding over the percussive section of an orchestra and his dynamic range is quite brilliant.
This band draw comparisons from a large percentage of my favourite artists; Bjork, Deerhoof and Prince to name a few; and can also stand their ground with them. If you have not had the pleasure of listening to them yet, do so before you finish your next breath; do not wait until you are questioned at the pearly gates as to why you wasted your time on earth by not listening to them.
Battles headline tonight's show, bringing their unique style of robotical convention bending rock into the Astoria. They're what the audience has been waiting for, and we're all ready to be thrust into the inner workings of their math machine.
They start the momentum building slowly, jamming out with precision while teasing the audience by throwing in fragments of 'Race: In' from their Mirrored album, and building up tension. We wait for a sizeably recognisable riff that we can embrace... we wait a bit longer... I find myself checking my watch as we wait...
About twenty minutes into it we are rewarded with 'Tonto'; a tune containing catchy vocals that sound like a modulated stylisation of Fugazi's 'The Argument'. I'm now pleased, and so is everyone else, especially when they follow this with 'Atlas'; the march-like pounding drum beat provided by Stanier, leading the staccato fragmented guitar chords, along with Tyondai Braxton's vocals; evoking warped nursery rhymes after they've entered the matrix. The audience is understandably thrilled.
I do find though that Battles are guilty at times of the over indulgence in their set that The Mars Volta can prescribe to. It has the effect of making everyone go wild when they finally do drop a song like 'Atlas', but their impromptu wanderings deviate too far from the realms of brilliance heard on Mirrored, and leave me feeling quite static and unmoved. They are all excellent musicians, and Braxton's multifaceted ability to manipulate guitar, keyboard and vocals simultaneously is first-class, but it doesn't rescue parts of their set from becoming dull.
There are other highlights from Battles such as 'Leyendecker'; holding a grimy bass riff while vocals hum out in the style of an otherworldly Justin Timberlake, and the legendary John Stanier on drums is also a joy to see in action, but excitement just seems too few and far between. Battles are still good, but it's the Dirty Projectors who have elevated this gig to something special.
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