Glasgow is well-known and celebrated for its music and arts, and the place is packed with venues of all shapes, sizes and states. Broadcast is one that, until tonight, I have never ventured inside. In fact, I had no idea it even existed until a few months ago. That’s the other thing about Glasgow – it is full of surprises, most of them positive, fortunately. Unintentionally turning up a little late, the brilliant Glaswegian four-piece, in:tides – an entirely instrumental band – have already gotten things underway. The first thing you’ll notice about Broadcast is the spiral staircase leading down into the basement that, at first glance, looks a little dangerous. The second thing is that the venue in the bar’s basement is tiny – the equivalent of the average living room, but without all of the home comforts. The benches set to the wall on either side look comfy, but in reality are the total opposite. With three guitars and a set of drums, in a space this small, produces a wall of sound that only serves to stun from all sides. The good thing about this is that in:tides make some of the most beautiful music heard in a long while. The downside is that eventually it all jumbles together into one sound, making the vast, immense and bordering-on-epic soundscapes sound as though it’s being played under water. A sound this large needs a much bigger space; a venue the size of Broadcast’s is doing them no favours whatsoever.
Edinburgh’s Return To The Sun – another four-piece band quickly take over from in:tides – there’s only three hours to cram in three bands before a curfew at 10pm sharpish – the only difference is that this time the band comes with vocals. On the one hand, they seem to fare much better than in:tides did with the sound despite having a very similar set-up. It doesn’t sound cramped and there’s none of that under-water quality, and yet, on the other hand, there does seem to be something of a forced, “Madchester” quality to the lead vocals. The band have plenty of energy, which might go some way to explaining the lead vocalist’s penchant for shouting. The most striking thing about the band is the bassist – he exhibits that air of cool that only bassists can. Other than that, Return To The Sun don’t seem to have much else going for them. It’s all right, but it could be a Hell of a lot better. The crowd are mostly uninterested and many of them are chatting away in their groups, although they do remember to applaud politely at the end of each track. The band lack personality and their banter falls flat. The backing vocals mostly come from the drummer in his obligatory spot behind everyone else – a pity, really; drummers are such fascinating creatures. All in all, it’s hard to distinguish one track from the next. With a bit of effort, Return To The Sun could be a really good band.
Without so much as a warning, the venue is packed full of people. It’s a real step up and in complete contrast to four years ago when Halo Tora played their first ever show to a score of people at Stereo in 2011. Opening with an ominous, muted dialogue, Halo Tora set the scene, before launching straight in with loud, bold rock sounds. In typical Halo Tora fashion, though, it drops right down to very small and oh-so-simple, with minimal layering and then snaps right back up to those almost earth-shattering proportions. Halo Tora seem to have the full package: the bold rock sounds, the stripped back sounds with that beautiful shimmering quality and the vocal harmonies that both stun and chill in equal measures. Already it is clear that this will be a highlight of their tour; it’s a hometown gig after all. The problem with hometown gigs is that they are usually packed out with the band’s friends and family, which almost always means that people think it’s OK to spend the entire set chatting away to each other, spoiling the atmosphere. Halo Tora don’t seem to type to let that throw them off their game – and it doesn’t, moving from one track to the next with little fuss; the early curfew might have something to do with that. Their sound is along similar lines of the likes of Mogwai and Oceansize, creating cinematic, stunning soundscapes. Fourth offering ‘Tonight’ starts slow and steady and oozing atmosphere but then out of nowhere it blows the roof off with grinding guitars, drums that thunder and vocals so powerful they threaten to implode every mind present. In all honesty, Halo Tora would be just as incredible as an instrumental band. And they’re difficult to predict; one minute they’re bold and almost abrasive, and the next moment they’ve pulled everything right back to it’s barest bones and with such delicacy in a matter of seconds, even going as far as to do all of these things in one song. It’s unsettling just how good they are at lulling you into a false sense of security and stunning everyone all over again. The only thing letting them down is the small space they’re playing in – with that wall of sound that can be difficult to hear when layers mash together and come very close to cancelling each other out, serving also to force the drums, the bass and the guitar right through to your stomach and sending it rattling through your ribcage. What is increasingly clear with every performance is that very special things are set to come for Halo Tora and are well on their way to becoming one of Scotland’s best-loved bands.
