Stereo isn’t quite packed out for this trio of post rock bands the venue has an informal, intimate feel that contrasts oddly but pleasantly with the loud, reverb-laden soundscapes associated with the genre.
First up are newcomers, Little Bay, fresh from The Big F Guitar Festival in Rothesay the previous evening. Boasting a more pop orientated feel than is usually associated with post rock, they blend powerful melodic vocals with interweaving guitar riffs and thick, driving bass lines to create a groove that is more of alternative pop than post rock at times but retains enough noise, grit, and shoe-gazing to keep die-hards of the genre happy.
With clever interplay between their three guitars, sophisticated dynamics, and tidal waves of reverb wash, they live up to their tag line: ‘Little Bay, big noise’. Final song, ‘Just Saying’, sees the young band at their most impressive, with soft, simple verses erupting into cataclysmic, distortion driven choruses then going out in a haze of fuzz and feedback.
Next up, Without Aeroplanes leap head first onto the stage in a hail of distortion, crashing guitars and ambient hiss, and the energy never lets up. Completely instrumental, the Aeroplanes are the quintessential post-rock band on the surface, but are thankfully devoid of any of the usual post rock pretentiousness, dealing with some mid set heckling in an amiable way.
Although without a vocal part the structure of some songs seem unclear and sections slightly meandering, they constantly pull back interest with their energy and heavy guitars, which were smashed, hit with screwdrivers, and generally abused by the end of the set.
Headliners, Analogue of the Sun, take to the stage amid ambient guitar noise and electronic drum beats that build up into complex (both melodically and rhythmically) songs which are part post rock, part prog rock and a jag of hardcore punk.
They combine beautiful four part harmonies with edgy guitar riffs, jangling keyboards and attention grabbing beats to create something that should be clumsy but is actually graceful, like a spider wearing a roller skate on each of its eight feet.
They shift seamlessly from shoe-gaze ambient sections into heavy, riff driven choruses, and give the impression that every little part of a song is worked, reworked, and sharpened to a fine point. Nothing is tacked on here.
All in all, the night is a great show of the potential of bands in the underground Glasgow scene, we will hopefully hear more of them.
Words: Joseph Pretzel
Photos: Post-Blog as Fuck!
