The Brudenell's well established as the place for seeing great local talent in Leeds, and tonight's lineup is the perfect illustration of this. On the face of it, Vessels and These Monsters may seem like rather curious touring buddies, but in actuality, it's a perfect combination. So many bills suffer from a surfeit of similarity, which makes the contrasts between these two all the more appreciated.
As if to provide evidence for the prosecution regarding sameness, post-rock instrumentalists Invisible Cities are up first to get things going. Playing in front of the stage, thus shrinking the space for an even more intimate atmosphere, they're accomplished, tight and clearly very talented. But... yes, I'm afraid there's a but, and it's that I've heard this sort of thing more times than I can even begin to count. I like my slow-burning, crescendo-building math-rocky post-rock augmented with some nice viola detail as much as the next man, but I'm starting to find it all a bit samey. Still, a decent enough warm-up, which gave my mates time to think of more food-related puns for band names (I may never forgive Blacklisters for this) to assail me with at the end of their set.
These Monsters also played in front of the stage, and kicked out riff after riff in style. It's a wild style, although considerably tamer (and soberer) than when they supported Pulled Apart by Horses in the same venue a few weeks ago. This doesn't make them any more predictable, or less exciting, though, and they pour heart, soul and pints of sweat into their sax-frazzled stoner-prog monoliths. Lengthy and lumbering they may be, but a no point do These Monsters succumb to self-indulgence, or forget that they're there to entertain, and entertain they do. The space they have to play in shrinks as the set progresses, and by the end they're cramped into a tiny space. The extremely warm (scrap that, it's absolutely fucking boiling) reception they receive is more than deserved.
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In some ways, Vessels' set comes as something of an anticlimax after the freak-out rush of These Monsters. A long time fiddling with the sound before the set gets under way builds frustration rather than anticipation, although the fact I feel as though I'm melting probably doesn't help. It's a very good job the beer's cheap here. When they do get going, though, it's worth the wait and the tinkering, as their sound is dense and layered and infinitely textured.
The first two thirds of the set is composed of brand new material, and while some appeared to be finding it harder to get into, I have to admit to not knowing their material well enough to have such issues. The changes in direction, key and tempo are abundant and executed with remarkable precision, and if anyone wants a masterclass in intricate, imaginative post-rock (with no small emphasis on the rock), they should look no further.
It does seem a little too meticulous and controlled during tonight's set, however, and for that reason I didn't find Vessels to be quite as engaging or as exhilarating as on previous occasions I've seen them. Perhaps it's because a band can never have the same impact as on the first time you see them, or perhaps it's because they were concentrating on getting to grips with less familiar material without stuffing it up. They certainly achieved, this, and when played more fluidly, it should be awesome. However, it could simply have been that on this occasion These Monsters stole the show...
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