Unfortunately though, I had to put my bitchy comments and general “slagging off” on hold for the duration of Nottingham locals Souvaris’s set. The eclectic, instrumental five-piece who fall under the ‘post-rock’ genre essentially started by Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ album mixed with old, spacey prog rock and the original emo stylings. Good job this genre is mostly amazing to witness then, eh?

Souvaris are a much welcome part of the recent, mainly-British, post-rock scene, despite actually being veterans of the genre, and take sounds and influences from: Explosions in the Sky, The Postal Service and Mono, but with a real upbeat and dancy mood which doesn’t conform to the often very “linear” way of writing said music, and with extreme confidence and vigour. The basics to Souvaris’s sound is that they draw attention to the more subtle parts of the music (for instance, lead guitar riffs often become more of a background rhythm than the primary focus), they are constantly building up to something which is nearly always worth the wait, they always strive for the listeners attention and leaving them with a false sense of security; but not necessarily in that order. The way each instrument used sways in and out of the listener’s focus while the rest keep a fairly original rhythm section is fantastic, if innovative. The clever and inventive use of instruments is also refreshing, proceedings including pianos, jingle bells, handclaps and not one BUT TWO cowbells! In fact the cowbells become an interesting part of the set as, despite being promised by the band throughout the set, when they do feature them on their final song, the two guitarists excitedly grab the cowbells, begin their rhythm, and then all of a sudden dive off into the crowd, keeping the rhythm as they go. They then resume making their way around the venue, which also is a very nice place, so no criticisms there, weaving their way through the crowd while playing stealthily, like well trained ninjas with cowbell technique! Speaking of their final song, ‘The Young Ted Danson’, it is one of the most original and inventive tracks I’ve heard for a while, cowbells or none. The guitarists, who in previous songs had gone absolutely frantic and euphoric in the appropriate moments, create a fantastically controlled, rhythmic background throughout the song with mostly finger tapped, intricate guitar riffs, reminiscent to that of Minus the Bear and with the wonderfully joyous atmosphere of Settlefish and in conclusion, is stunning as much as it is exciting to witness. This band are bright hopes for the UK.

Luckily, my prayers were soon answered to have a good rant about something while in Nottingham. And this is quite a rant.

I had a bad feeling about The Swarm the moment I saw their ‘fans’, the band’s very clichéd ‘Red and Black’ uniform and them believing they were really political. The Swarm took stage with a group of middle-class chavs swooning their name and generally being ignorant (most of who will probably attempt to hunt me down if they can read). Now, I don’t mean to sound elitist, but when your mother turns up all proud and all dancing to her son’s “We’re so political and punk it hurts” band, you can expect The Swarm to be nothing but hypocritical, middle-class, white-boy music. And The Swarm failed to disappoint as they drudged through their un-innovative, bland, clichéd set of generally appalling music. Accompanied by “shocking” and “controversial, innit” visuals and a vocalist trying desperately to be punk, this is pathetic in every sense of the word. The Swarm would like to think they were Amen, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, The Rolling Stones and The International Noise Conspiracy. The Swarm would like to think they were “Punk”, “Political” and “Aggressive”. Hell, The Swarm would like to think they were “good”, but they are so predictable it is actually insulting to watch. The only possible positive criticism I can offer to The Swarm is that, instrumentally, they are fairly tight at what they do (still sloppy compared to most though) and in a couple songs, they create a decent, apocalyptic atmosphere, but it soon ruined by their idiotic, childish vocalist, hypocritical image and subject matter, pathetic, unimaginative music, and a very annoying strobe light. It’s as if hardcore music had never existed and Ian MacKaye was wasting his time. Grow up or FUCK OFF.

So finally, that all off my chest, we get to headliners Pelican, playing for the first time in the UK for two years. Fresh of the 2005 masterpiece, ‘The Fire in the Throats will beckon the Thaw’ and a split record with Mono, and whom recently confirmed a European mega-tour with Cave In, in the New Year. So, it would be fair to say things are going fairly well the Chicago metallers, but one thing that has never really been decided is whether they are successful as a live act. Granted, with this album they have only just begun to scratch the surface of musical recognition and appreciation, so not many fans will have an opinion on their live show (bar owning the live DVD). The truth is, right now, Pelican are a great live act, but they don’t really go any further than great.

Although having stunning songs and playing a very tight set of music, for one reason or another, Pelican live doesn’t quite capture the magic of them on record. Now, this could well be due to a “bad night” for the band, or because they played to full potential that the venue would permit them, but given Souvaris managed it fine earlier in the night, there really shouldn’t be any excuse for Pelican, and one would be forgiven to feel just a little bit disappointed by this performance. What makes their music so special, particularly on the new album, is the whole atmosphere (as to be expected with post-metal), when you listen to ‘The Fire…’ you are nothing but consumed and relaxed in a sea of euphoria and stunning music, it is as if the oceans themselves could create music. So, although this could be perceived as over-hyping, they just don’t quite capture it here, some songs being played a little too sluggish of even a little rushed.

Criticisms aside though, when Pelican do get it right, it is stunning. The crowd are sent to bliss by letting the music rush over them and be moved by it, (mostly though slow nodding of heads and bodies). ‘Autumn into summer’ and ‘Aurora Borealis’ are beautiful, played at such velocity, with such vigour, it is a captivating experience to say the least. But even their set list could have been better. Granted they wanted to include a couple songs pre-‘The Fire…’ but the disappearance of ‘Red Ran Amber’ (arguably Pelican’s best song) is a bit of a disappointment as it is such an epic song, and captures Pelican sound as a whole so, so well.

So, the potential is there since, at times Pelican are mesmerizing, but if they could create that same experience and feeling for a whole set of music (especially for the Cave In tour), then they will be doing themselves justice. Next time, with feeling lads.

Adam Turner-Heffer