Live Review: TVAM at Bristol Thekla


TVAM




Now this is a curious proposition. Hockeysmith consist of three members; a lead vocalist/keyboard player, a guitarist and a dancer. The stage setting is minimalist, consisting only of said members and their instruments.

But there is a lot to watch as the trio engage in some in-your-face dancing (hopping) against a backdrop of wind-swept squalling guitar, accompanied by beats and backing music. It’s a bit performance art, and initially the crowd aren’t sure what to make of it. The music is solid, electric pop with a twist, whilst the guitarist doesn’t so much play the guitar as ravish it. But the performance of the trio and, importantly, their beguiling enthusiasm does win you over.

As a precursor to headliners TVAM, there couldn’t be more of a contrast. It’s like cheese and chalk; the high energy of Hockeysmith compared to the inconspicuousness of TVAM is striking.

The two piece are drenched in darkness, naught but silhouettes, the meat in the sandwich of a television (see what they did there?) front and centre, the images also displayed on the backdrop of the stage. Throughout the set, the imagery includes mirrored split-screens, car safety videos from years gone by and simple displays of the world. It’s nondescript, but as literally the only thing to look at for the entire set it’s perhaps a statement of how dominant the idiot’s lantern is that we’ll watch anything. Some lyrics are also displayed, which comes in useful as one cannot decipher what Joe Oxley is saying.

Not that all this matters; the music itself is fantastic, albeit perhaps not for a Sunday evening. It’s more Sunday morning music, namely witching hour at the end of the night. We Likes Fires sounds like the soundtrack to an 80s synth led sci-fi B movie. The psychedelic drone of Narcissus brings to mind Death In Vegas at their most intense and experimental, and These Are Not Your Memories sounds like the road Tame Impala should have taken had they not succumbed to success.

The key touch-point is the driving rhythm of krautrock, specifically Neu. The propulsion is claustrophobic at points, working in tandem with the industrial beats and tempo. The ice-cold electronica works well with the neo-psychedelia which is their starting position. To be making all this noise from a guitar, a keyboard and more effects pedals than you can shake a stick out is some feat.

The last track, Total Immersion, could not be better named; when the two down tools and walk off stage, to come back to the real world and realise there were other people sharing that experience with you is a slight wake-up call.

(Richard Bowes)


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