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Air Formation: Live
The Gramaphone - East London. August 14th 2008.There were actually four bands on at this gig. Thanks to the narrow lanes of Brick Lane, my Brother's car couldn't get us through quick enough to catch the first one on stage!
I really was hoping to come away from the gig enthusing about each band on tonight but one band, Air Formation stole the show and my heart.
They erased every single thought I had about the other bands and I was completley lost in their music, full stop!
I heard a few AF tracks on their Myspace page and even though I liked what I heard, nothing prepared me for the live experience.
The band get desrcribed as "Shoegaze", which really takes something away from their sound, as there is so much more. I mean, ok they have the effect soaked guitars, which howl and slice through the air! The difference here is the clarity. For a live sound, I haven't heard crispness and sharpness like this for a long time, The bass was a real stand out for me. It reminded me of that low Peter Hook esque growl and it came through the mix and and was played like a lead instrument, rather than sitting at the back of the class copying everyone else. The guitars came and went in waves which lifted you up and left you suspended and then slowly dropped you down with a smile. It had an anthemic feel, without being ham-fisted. I found the hairs on the back of my neck standing up so much so, that I have to apologize to anyone whose view my have been obscured by them.
The vocals were low tonally and low in the mix, but added another depth to the whole sound. The duality of the two gutairs did remind me of Slowdive but was more upbeat, it also had hints of Chapterhouse in there, too. The bass had rumbles of Joy Division (even the bass player's stance reminded me of Hooky.) and also think "In Debt" era Disco Inferno ("Freethought").
All I that is left to say is, see this band live! They have the potential to put decent guitar effect driven music back on the map! And everyone I spoke to at the gig seemed to feel the same, and agreed that they blew the rest of the bands out of the equation...
The band have a 7" release due out soon on Distant Noise Records. Check out their Myspace for more info'! I'm gonna gel the hairs on the back of my neck down at their next gig, I promise!
AMAZING!!!
Air Formation Myspace page
Nicky.
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