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Live reviews
Red Sparrowes
- Club Play/Rec, Huset, CPH, April 4th 2006
 At
times, instrumental rock music feels like it’s just that:
Otherwise fairly good songs that no one bothered to put vocals
on and therefore lacking that element. With the whole post-rock
movement of some 5-10 years ago, while its leaders –
Tortoise, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Mogwai - were far beyond
such criticisms, made beautiful, grandiose, and often extremely
loud and brutal instrumental music that worked in its own
right; a lot of indie bands tagged along, apparently thinking
this sounded so easy. I mean, a melody line in minor key,
built up slowly, adding distortion, climaxing, quieting down,
and letting it fall apart: Simple as that. And very uninteresting.
Which is why these last few years the genre has pretty much
been written off, and bands have found other styles and ideas
to plagiarize.
At it’s best, though, instrumental rock music in all
its many forms, spanning the polyrhythmic, krautrock-inspired
jazzrock of Tortoise and the bombastic, metallic symphonies
of GYBE!, naturally isn’t to written off just like that,
and having spent the previous night on a plane from Turkey,
drifting in and out of sleep with Do Make Say Think in my
headphones, I was open for this night to impact me. Of course,
it helps a lot to build your anticipations, that Red Sparrowes
count members of Neurosis and Godflesh, and that Barra Head
had hyped them for their metallic approach to post-rock.
Even so, I was left largely unmoved by their hourlong set.
Sure, there were decent riffs, there were oscillating noise
effects, there were some seriously heavy parts, and there
was emotion, so much emotion it made you want to slit your
wrists for living in what grey society this music and the
slideshow behind the band projected. But something was missing
for me, and I’m pretty sure it was vocals. Something
to take it a step further, to connect it with the listener.
To me, the music remained unresolved, unredeemed, lacking
a higher purpose. And I’m sorry about that, since potentially,
with the forces combined in this band, this could have been
something extraordinary, vocals or not.
Still, a lot of people bought their record during the show,
so I might have been tired, plus the band had had their equipment
stolen the night before in Stockholm, so they probably didn’t
have their best night of the tour, I suppose.
Jon A
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