Crystal Stilts – XOYO, London – 20/6/11
3/5
By: Joe Daniels
Crystal Stilts slowly stumble onto the stage, offer the slightest of glances at the audience, and then fix their perennial gaze on the deck, where it stays locked throughout the show. It’s a gesture even more forthright in its lethargy than when they eventually pick up their instruments only to play ten minutes of formless, swirly dissonance.
Eventually they play songs, and they play them well enough. Drenched in reverb, Brad Hargett’s voice is even more spectral than on record, floating in and out of audibility, leaving most of the work to Keegan Cooke on drums, who somehow manages to keep things in 4/4 despite his frontman’s serious incredulity to precision. The intertwining synths and guitars of Prismatic Room, Invisible City, and Shake the Shackles sound even more intertwining live, with the latter almost getting people dancing. Almost.
About two-thirds into the set, the lackadaisical approach to showmanship starts to grate, and we start to get a bit bored. When your songs are all so loaded with the same nihilistic shtick – no matter how effective that shtick may be – some concessions to showbiz would be nice. Surely there was some puckish self-awareness in the camp titling of new record In Love with Oblivion? Why not bring the playfulness here?
Not that it matters for long as ‘Love is a Wave’ actually does get people dancing, rescuing the gig from the imminent lull of organ-and-delay-pedals-overdrive, and proving that on occasion, their songs need no showboating. Sadly, that only applies on occasion.
Artists in this article: Crystal Stilts
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