That Was The Show That Was: Ought with Trash Kit | The Dome, London | 26 April

[PHOTO: Theo Gorst] Montreal-based Ought arrived Tuesday at London's Tufnell Park Dome in the midst of what seems like a never-ending tour, only four months since their last London appearance, and the surfeit of shows has the Canadian quartet in prime form. Sure, the band's set lists seem to vary only rarely, but where spontaneity may fall to the wayside a polished professionalism reigns. The result, at least earlier this week in London, was 80 minutes of taut indie rock, deployed to maximal effect.

The first half of Ought's set focused on music from its 2015 sophomore release Sun Coming Down, while songs from More Than Any Other Day –- the band's debut from the prior year -- consumed much of the remainder. The whole of the show underscored the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of Ought's music, in which paranoia regularly spars with a life-affirming jubilance. During "Men For Miles," fronter and guitarist Tim Darcy channeled the dystopian drawl of legendary The Fall provocateur Mark E. Smith, but elsewhere Mr. Darcy elided a frantic optimism, particularly during "The Weather Song." The collision of these opposing dispositions erected a thrilling tension during the performance, and is key to Ought being a particularly vital live act.

Sun Coming Down's "Beautiful Blue Sky" is the centerpiece of that record and proved to be the still point of turning for the night's performance as well. While on the album it is surrounded by other tracks that breathlessly change pace, the band's opus lingers when given time -- and apparently the blue lights illuminating the stage -- to meaningfully fade. For his part, during the song Darcy recounts small talk and other trappings of modernity until they become devoid of meaning. As his vocals left off Tuesday night, the hypnotic bassline that began the song continued on, figuratively echoing the track's repeated line "that is all that I left."

Elsewhere, the disconnect between hope and hopelessness was perfectly articulated during the rousing set closer "Today, More Than Any Other Day." The tune began with a swirling, murky guitar line reminiscent of Slint. Over this Darcy speak-sang "we're sinking deeper," before propulsive drumming from Tim Keen drove the song toward its thrilling next stage. The crowd lapped up the fronter's peculiar and captivating mannerisms -- which vacillated between camp and strict -– and readily permitted Darcy to lead them through the song's frantic paces. When he sang "one more time," the venue was a sea of wagging forefingers, the front rows mirroring the singer's enthralling movements, providing a fitting display of reverence at the end of a magnificent show.

South London post-punk trio Trash Kit opened. While Ought share with the late, great Talking Heads' a penchant for galloping guitars (and paranoia), the support act winsomely conveyed the naïveté of The Raincoats and their turn-of-the-'80s Rough Trade peers. Primarily performing music from its latest record, Confidence, guitar, bass and drums alluringly interlocked with the rhythm section's global grooves, perfectly complementing the clipped cries of fronter Rachael Aggs. -- Theo Gorst, Special Correspondent

Ought: Facebook | Internerds
Trash Kit: Facebook | Internerds





Related Coverage:
That Was The Show That Was: Ought, LVL UP, Diet Cig | Great Scott, Boston | 30 Sept.

Today's Hotness: Gondoliers, No Other, Lamps

>> It has already been one of Midriff Records' busiest years, but the little label that just might is not quite through with you yet. Next week the Boston- and New York-based enterprise issues the latest long-player from veteran Boston noise rockers Gondoliers. The album, Gondoliers' third and second of 2013, is titled Tonight's Whispering, and it is filled with the trio's characteristic sinister and off-kilter Sturm und Drang, a singular sound that situates the band along a strange, fantastical axis running between The Fall and Jesus Lizard. The album's titular whispering is elusive, but the album cut "Mackerel Hill" comes closest, and is a rare spot of calm within the otherwise convulsive and electrifying set. The song stutters along within intermittent gravity, shepherded by minimal percussion, a slow, staccato series of jarring and bending guitar chords, and plonking, round synth tones. Above the measured din, fronter John Manson proffers a Slint-styled spoken word incantation. The pace and posture of the song make it stand out among the rest of the music comprising Tonight's Whispering, which Midriff releases Tuesday as a digital download and vinyl LP (the vinyl is a co-release with 100% Records). You can not yet order the record, presumably because the Midriff people are still trying to, like Gary and Wyatt from "Weird Science," hook up the doll. But we think if you go to Midriff's Internet Home Page by mid-week, you should be able to find a buy link there. Fans would be well advised to mark down Nov. 25 in their date books, as that is when Gondoliers will play a record release show at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square; there are more details about the show right here. Gondoliers only recently returned to Massachusetts after what sounded like a very successful campaign touring Europe, bringing the evil robot basement grooves to the people. All of Tonight's Whispering is streaming at Soundcloud here; we've embedded the creepy "Mackerel Hill" below to give just a little bit of the taste of the bass for you as you get up and dance at the LQ.



>> If you are launching a new band and have to pick a sonic square one at which to start, we think you could do far worse than staking your claim to a piece of the scene by emulating Wild Flag. Which is pretty much where we find the fledgling Philly-based indie rock trio No Other, at least at times, on its nimble debut EP, I Believe In Werner Herzog. The outfit, fronted by notable jill-of-all-trades (guitar girl, DJ, show promoter) Maria T, takes its name from an obscure Gene Clark LP. But instead of the indulgent excess of the Byrds co-founder's career-derailing album, No Other trades in stylishly lean post-punk. That Maria T's voice can be favorably compared to that of Velocity Girl's Sarah Shannon (and, yes, Mary Timony's) makes the Philadelphia act's EP particularly easy on the ears. The collection was recorded at Sex Dungeon in Philly, which indiescenti will recall is the facility responsible for awesome records from Fat History Month, Pile and Speedy Ortiz. Included in the No Other offering are three songs, which are available for free to those willing to give over their email address. The promo track "Destruction Song" makes for a tidy statement of intent. Plenty of fuzz on the guitar, ample fizz from behind the drum kit, and burly bass conspire to give the song substantial magnitude and direction, although the vocal interplay in the pre-chorus really makes "Destruction Song" take off. EP opener "Break Away" thrives via a long skein of fuzz bass that goes Hulk during the song's dense choruses, and the final track "DSSN" propounds the set's most danceable beat. In sum, it's a very fine start for a very promising act, and we're eager to hear more. Stream "Destruction Song" via the Soundcloud embed below.



>> Minimal electronic music: we feel like our inbox should be filled with it, a new full inbox every day. Not because our appetite for it is vast, but because 10 years ago we were listening to scads of compelling European electronic stuff, and it seemed like it was going to become a "thing." And we suppose it did, although largely the sort of excellent music that arrives in America on labels like Kompakt and Morr, well, still comes from overseas, and the present wave of American EDM that has supposedly gone mainstream, well, it still seems too removed from indie rock blogs like this one. This is in part because what we typically encounter seems descended from house and techno, so dance music as opposed to head music. And the electronic music we favor, to paraphrase something Mr. Riley wrote last week, aims directly for the head. Which is a long way of introducing Lamps, the nom de guerre of Chicago-based electronic producer, mixer and engineer Keith J. Nelson. What may or may not be his debut offering under this particular moniker is a fine pair of pulsing, droning compositions, "Alpines" and "Cooscoos." The tunes are quietly kaleidoscopic, at peace with their own shifting layers of synth tones, drones, acoustic guitars and beats. For all of its focus on texture and depth, Lamps' songs are notable for their deceptively intricate rhythms. "Alpines" breaks its reverie just before it enters its final minute, hitting a full stop before resuming its hurried waltz time and augmenting it with fat electronic snare cracks and kick drum. "Cooscoos" is suspended along a mesh of time signatures that coalesce under a modulating, mid-range hum and some high and lonesome melodica. If indeed this is Lamps' debut, it is an auspicious one, and even if it is not, it is well worth you time and attention. Both songs are available as a paywhutchalike download via the Bandcamp embed below. Mr. Nelson's musical CV shows he has worn a lot of musical hats (not literal musical hats, although that would be cool, too) in Boston prior to heading out to Chicago, including serving as one part of a duo that ran the now apparently defunct concern Bedroom Singles.