The Tide Inside
The Ballroom is busy tonight. There is a keen sense of anticipation as the crowd enjoy the debut gig of The Tide Inside. They are aptly named – we hear plaintive wails like sirens calling sailors to be dashed on the rocks. Meanwhile, minimal arrangements of guitar, bass and drums ebb and flow like water.
Close-echoed vocals give a claustrophobic sense of menace – slow and ominous. Unlike a tightly constrained three minute pop song, these songs have space to breathe. That’s not to say it is all shoe-gazing atmosphere. There is a strut and swagger to some numbers, backed up by brutal fuzz bass and screaming guitar.
From a promising debut, this is a band that will only put on more and more impressive performances as time goes on.
Muscles Of Joy
Muscles Of Joy are as far from a standard three-piece rock outfit as you can get. They open confidently with only shakers and vocals, before throwing tenor horns, cowbells, violas, bass guitars, vocoders and many more that cannot be identified together in a melee. Voices are used in every way imaginable, from banshee yelps, through conventional singing, through Balkan-style wails, to guttural grunts and moans. It is an instrument to be manipulated and played with like any other. It is utterly arresting.
Songs bear no obvious structure – many parts appearing to be improvised. Nonetheless, each piece builds and climaxes with impressive clarity and cohesion. What seems random is actually a beautifully orchestrated cacophony. There is a real groove and drive at times.
It is brave and exposed, immersive and inventive. Feeling more like an art project than a band, in the best possible sense, this is not a gig – it’s an experience. Stunningly original.
Her Royal Highness
The atmosphere is dark and brooding. Guitar and synths do battle. It sounds apocalyptic, like a long-abandoned factory being swallowed in a sea of tar.
The singer also is dark and brooding, almost vampiric in appearance. She stalks the stage before launching at the mic. All energy is channelled through it. She sings, snarls, yells, and whispers through it. She invests everything in the performance. Couple this with an effortless charisma, and the result is compelling.
Most of the audience are clearly fans already. Many others will no doubt follow suit. HRH work hard, both on stage and off, for their following. A confident performance from a band that deservedly continues to grow in stature.
