Christopher Nosnibor
deathlounge showed considerable promise when they featured early doors at an all-dayer late last year, at one of the final gigs hosted at The York Vaults, so to witness their EP launch feels like a significant stage in their progression.
I don’t appear to have attended a gig at The Basement, underneath the City Screen cinema since September 2016, and as their website no longer exists and their Facebook Page hasn’t seen a new post in almost three years, I had assumed it was done as a live music venue. There have been a few significant and positive changes to the layout, but the lighting still isn’t the best. Still, it’s good to be here, and three bands for six quid – less than the price of a pint here – is a no-brainer for some Saturday night live music entertainment.
In September 2016, it was Soma Crew opening for The Lucid Dream, and on noting this fact, I recall that Soma Crew were also the last band I saw before lockdown. My reviews have come to form something of a personal archive, a diary of sorts, and Soma Crew are a frequently recurring feature. And it’s not just because they play a lot locally that I’ve seen them so many times. We’ll return to them shortly, as Threat Detector is up first, and their offering is definitely different – from one song to the next.
A solo artist with live guitar and vocals against a backing track, what we get is some sample-soaked post rock and alternative rock and synth pop, making for an eclectic set which sometimes feels a little uncertain of where it’s headed. The timing of both the guitar and the vocals are a bit out in places, possibly at least partly on account of the drums being so low in the mix. The backing is well-programmed when it’s fully audible, which is mostly during the electronic songs which occupy the second half of the set. But when paired with the guitar, it’s often largely submerged, and the sound is pretty muddy overall. There do nevertheless seem to be some decent tunes with a pop edge in amidst that thick, gritty guitar sound – whether it was supposed to sound quite like that I’m not sure. It’s very much a set of two halves, returning to the guitar for the last song.
Threat Detector
Soma Crew are presenting with another different lineup permutation, notably with Andy Wiles of Percy back on bass. It’s a classic set of mesmeric, droning, one-chord riffs spinning out for an eternity. Watching the keyboard player tapping his foot while holding two fingers in the same position for five minutes is quite an unexpected marvel. When they lock into a groove, they’re a band you could watch all night. In this low-ceilinged room, with a stage that’s barely 3” high, at volume, and at this proximity, where the backline is right in your face, they are in their element and sound fantastic.
Soma Crew
deathlounge play the four tracks from their eponymous EP up front at the start of the set, back-to-back. Across the four songs they showcase the full spectrum of their songwriting. The style may be varied, but the musicianship is tight and the band cohere not only sonically but visually, with bassist, guitarist, and drummer all looking like they belong together, and this works in that while they lunge and lurch hard in their respective spaces (admittedly, on a stage this size there’s no real scope for mobility), the singer Chazz does his own thing. He brings his own energy and paces about as he spits anguish and disaffection.
deathlounge
At times they venture through the domains of emo and punk pop, but they’ve got a strong line in solid, grungy, punky riffs, and something of a cowboy obsession, resulting in some hard-driving country and a hint of ‘Rawhide’ on one of the songs. Towards the end – a solid forty-five minutes into the set, with a couple still to go – it did begin to feel as if it was a bit of a stretch for a band this early on in their career, on account of the material being new and unreleased, and thus unfamiliar. But the potential evidenced a few months back continues to glimmer and glow. Next stop: the album.
Aural Aggravation 