Live Review : Alcest + Birds In Row + Kælan Mikla @ Gorilla, Manchester on March 5th 2020

Kælan Mikla are an interesting proposition. This Icelandic trio come across as a mismatch of Fever Ray, Bjork and the Perturbator. Its all dark, synthy and haunting. Like the soundtrack of some forgotten eighties Vampire movie. The rapidly filling Gorilla take to them instantly and the audience reaction grows as the sold out crowd file in from the cold Mancunian night.

If Johnny Marr formed a hardcore band they would sound exactly like Birds In A Row. Their sound is caustic and confrontational, but sat squarely in the middle of it is this amazing jingly-jangly guitar. Opening track 'We Count So We Don’t Have To Listen' may well be barely three minutes on record, but here it stretches out into a ten minute plus jam, mainly caused by Bart Hirigoyen (known as B) needing to change a guitar string. During their set Birds in a Row make countless daring raids into a whole plethora of genres. There are bits reggae, indie and funk. In fact the end of 'Love is Political’ has a feel of early Red Hot Chili Peppers, back when they were exciting and vital, rather than jaded and bloated. ’15-38' starts off sounding like Pavement in their prime and then veers off into a much more heavier pastures. Birds in a Row feel vital and energising. They burn off the stage with intensity and malicious intent. Quentin Sauvé (Q to his grandma) doesn't just play the bass, he heavies it around like a weapon of mass destruction. Overall they are a snarly, aggressive but ultimately accessible proposition. They may be fuelled by anger and indignity, but they are sure able to carry a tune or two.

Alcest have transcended being musicians. They are artists painting complex tapestries with sound, explores into unknown sonic galaxies and cosmic surfers riding the transcendental waves of euphoric riffs. This is a very convoluted way of saying that Alcest are doing something very different to anyone else in our world. Tonight, they manage to be both minimal and anthemic, fragile and furious. We start heavy. Opener 'Les Jardins de Minuit' is almost jaunty with its “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh” refrain, but it also contains crushing riffs that resonate across the packed Gorilla. 'Protection' continues the heaviness. New record “Spiritual Instincts” has seen Alcest re-engage with the Black Metal that they abandoned back in 2014 and the first two tracks tonight fill tight, taut and corrosive. However Alcest are about far more than just brittle belligerence and 'Oiseaux de Proie' signals a move into introspective soundscapes. This is where Alcest excel and are frankly peerless. They weave a mesmeric web of subtle chords that build and then fade and then build again. It is like a lo-fi whirlwind, powerful but yet delicate and restrained.

That feeling of understated jubilation continues with 'Autre Temps’. It soars in magnificent crescendos of rapturous riff, but still manages to feel low-key and unassuming. It has the portent and ethereality of Black Metal but with the vulgarity and roughness removed. It is refrained and full of beauty and hope. 'Écailles de lune - Part 2' plunges us back into the darkness and is by far and away the most claustrophobic and constricting material on offer tonight. It lacks the optimism and positivity of their later stuff, but its bleakness and nihilism still manages to be engaging and intoxicating. 'Sapphire' and 'Le Miroir’, sees us return to “Spiritual Instincts” slick heaviness and are the most accessible songs on offer, the former almost results in a sing-along.

Main set closer 'Kodama' marks a return to the fluctuating surges of exhilarating noises. I cannot stress enough the adrenaline rush that comes from having these intricate walls of sound crash around you. And then they are gone and then they return (as is the way) with 'Là où naissent les couleurs nouvelles’. Again it shares DNA with Black Metal, but manages to be so much more. It sparkles with inventiveness, never standing still and knitting together slightness and dominance. We close with 'Deliverance’, by far the most delicate track on offer here tonight. It is such a gorgeous and underplayed song, though sadly its gentility is rather ruined by a drunk mancunian pushing his way to the front and offering to twat anyone who got in his way. Then one by one the band exit, leaving Neige caught in the dimming lights. On his knees with his back to the crowd, he squeezes the last notes out of his instrument as the sounds finally fade.

Alcest live is an experience like no-other. It is not a rowdy, participative affair. It is something far more expansive and mind-altering. For a brief hour and a half we get a door to an alternative universe opened to us. One of sumptuous colours and shapes, where the music paints vivid pictures of optimism and tranquillity. And then we are shoved back onto the cold streets of Manchester, with just our memories of what we have experienced for company.