MULO

Last Friday, Bristol’s psych-heads were served up with a unique and electrifying show as Aussie legends Pond ended their Man it Feels Like Space Again UK tour in joyous, ceremonious style at a sold out show at The Fleece.

Opening up the show were London’s Younghusband who perfectly whet the crowd’s appetite with finesse and good spirit. Their set was restrained in its dynamics but lulled everyone into a beautifully spaced-out atmosphere whilst laying down enticing grooves in later songs. The delicacy of the interweaving vocal and guitar parts that characterises their sound on debut album Dromes came through clearly with the welcome addition of some live intensity. The band have recently been working on some of their next album at Bristol’s own Invada studios and it was great to hear some of this new material developing within their set, with the band clearly excited about what they have in store for us. Their future is sure to be bright and this performance cemented, for me, the integrity of their sound and its defined place within the scene, providing a satisfying amalgamation of Velvets/Beatles serenity and melancholic Grandaddy-esque indie.

With The Fleece full of gleeful, eager fans, Pond took to the stage exuberantly and launched into the opener from their new record, ‘Waiting Around For Grace’, which showcased their phenomenal ability to translate the ingenious production on display in all of their work to the stage with casual confidence and considerable energy. Across their set they continued to supply, with their breath-taking sound, a feeling of immersion that took hold of everyone in the venue and created a truly treasurable experience and it was a great pleasure to see such a band at the very top of their game. The set presented a perfect balance between old favourites and material hot from the new record. Highlights included pretty much the entire audience belting back the chorus to ‘You Broke My Cool’, the inclusion of funky gem ‘Don’t Look at the Sun or You’ll Go Blind’ transporting everyone to the dancefloor of Boogie Nights, and an amazing rendition of Brian Eno’s ‘Baby’s On Fire’. The performance was the kind that only a band with such a rich body of work behind them could produce; an incredible showcase of musicianship, song craft and showmanship alongside effortless cool, vibrant energy and an emphasis on the fun-loving attitude that exudes throughout their music.

Having taken the crowd on a joyous trip through their eccentric, space-rock infused brand of modern psychedelia, the band returned to the stage for a well-deserved encore and hammered it home with the massive ‘Man it Feels Like Space Again’. During this epic finale, with its odyssey of guitars and heavily reverberating, Phil Collins-esque drums, they managed to turn The Fleece into what might as well have been the o2 Arena and it was clear that the band themselves had had an equally exhilarating night as their audience and were just as pleased as we were that they finished their tour so triumphantly in Bristol.

I think I’ve developed tinnitus from spending last Wednesday at Start The Bus. Playing were two bands battling it out for the title of kings of feedback and noise; the newly formed, Bristol-based Jesuits and London based NME radar hopefuls, Yak. It’s rare that you see the place so rammed at 9pm, but the excitement around Jesuits’ was massive.

With the commanding figure of bassist Lily Cook set in the middle, guitarists James Maclucas and Arthur Jayness shared vocals, traded harmonies and generally made a lot of noise. Although this was one of their first shows, the band had a swagger and confidence about them, even after James admitted playing the wrong chords for half a song. The songs spoke for themselves though, moving from drifting psychedelic planes to sharp punk noise almost effortlessly.

After the substantial early turnout for Jesuits, it was odd that Yak had some convincing to do, despite being the headline act. Having just come off the road supporting Peace, I was a little ready for some standard Indie-by-numbers. Their first single, ‘Plastic People’, is good, but a little tame. What I was not ready for was to be pounded by stoner riffs with a glam rock stomp.

The band took to the stage in a screech of feedback even louder than Jesuits, as if the two were set in a war to bust each others ear drums. All long hair and intense gazes, it made sense that the band had just got off a massive tour with Peace, but I’m not sure how into Yak most Peace fangirls would have been. Between the howling, Jack White-like vocals, the fuzzy bass lines and head banging drums, the only thing that the band shares with their touring buddies is their ability to write a catchy tune. Despite all the noise, it isn’t very hard to imagine Yak playing in bigger venues to audiences that shout back every line in the not too distant future.

It was also easy to draw comparisons to The Wytches without all the charms of slapback delay, instead replaced by a gimmicky organ placed at the front of the stage that was used occasionally, adding a texture of pointlessness on the backdrop of chaos. The set veered between influences; a dabble of Bowie here, a sprinkle of Led Zep there, the band all the while doing their best to encompass all their heroes. Whilst the bass stayed glued to the floor, resolute and commanding, the guitarist was doing his absolute best to cause havoc.  Kicking his synths, swinging off the lighting rig, it all seemed a bit much for a Wednesday. Maybe it’s just me being cynical, but it all seem a bit contrived. In the closing song the singer pulled the stage curtains round the stage, blocking the audience from actually seeing the band. I guess that's just 'rock n' roll' and, if nothing else, it was refreshing to see a young new band letting loose. A bigger stage maybe, a few more adoring fans, and it might have been wholly captivating.