Venturing into the vacuous lands of Stratford, otherwise known as an atypical Friday night, my heightened senses came into full force rather timely for one of the most eccentric bands surfacing the underground punk scene currently - Black Midi.
Intertwining tropes of math-rock, noise-rock, post-punk, and even progressive-jazz, the 4-piece band stands out as one of the quirkiest acts to come through from South London - held together by a barely existent presence on social media and streaming services. Think The Doors, Sonic Youth, and Ought pulling through their various decades of sounds into a cataclysmic amalgamation bordering on absurdity as they wade through soft, jazz-tinged sections, and mind-numbing, distortive explosions. The crowd suitably responded with incessant bopping, weaving, and occasionally moshing, to the weird and wonderful sonic aura exuded from the band’s plethora of live drums, guitars, and shoegaze-esque effects pedals on stage.
First encountering this ethereal sound at the International Festival Forum last September, the band appealed to my yet-impaired hearing senses, yet omitted any acknowledgement of the audience gathered - not even a ‘thank you’. Usually, this lack of respect would irk me to my core, however, it took a truly unique and excitable band such as Black Midi to waive this begrudging behaviour. In a current world filled with such refined and somewhat dated indie/punk-rock acts, from Foals to Foo Fighters, it was beyond refreshing to encounter this band once again last Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd packed into a converted warehouse.
My only qualms against the band’s live set would mainly stem from the lead singer’s, Geordie Greep, vocals which were fairly indistinctive and became ultimately lost in the cacophony of the sonic experience. Much like my admiration for Ought’s frontman Tim Darcy, I respect such politically-oriented lyrical content calling out much of the absurdities of our current post-modern society. Whilst Greer’s nasally vocal delivery undoubtedly contributed as a factor for their elusive sound, it felt as if the crowd needed that final connection with the music to partake in some vocal response towards the band.
Nevertheless, the sheer unpredictability of their live sound, along with such a sparse online presence, added a unique and hype-worthy charm - particularly for someone forever in search of memorable acts on the current scene. Black Midi have rolled back time with such an unorthodox and insular approach to their marketing - purely relying on word of mouth to disseminate the act's positive reputation. For this reason, I implore in all of you to go in search of this band’s live dates (see below) as one can only appreciate them in their live format. Perhaps this proves the bona fide point that if an act’s music is unique and enticing enough, marketing and promotion is not the be-all-and-end-all for ‘making it’ in the industry. In spite of the odds with today's relentless marketing, they may very well garner a substantial reputation amongst the underground community as one of the most authentically experimental ‘rock’ acts of the decade - conducted purely through their live presence and not through memes.
8.5/10
Black Midi are currently on tour - tickets can be found here.
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