 |
| Photos - Robin Chamberlain |
A positively autumnal
night and the Brudenell was the setting for Autobahn's northern leg
of their debut album release celebrations, having launched in London
the previous evening.
With a yelping guitar
and perfectly paired gutteral screech of vocals, first support came
from G G Glitter; an exuberant onslaught of noise that started
proceedings off in just the right way. Second up were Chaika.
Seemingly musically mismatched with the other acts on the bill and
slightly awkward looking on stage, their seventies psych throwback
tracks blended into one and were instantly forgettable. It was left
then to Sievehead to warm the crowd up; and they managed that in
style. Like a really late Ramones just as it all began to go wrong,
somehow, with an affable charm, they manage to make the glam-punk
vibe work for them and for us.
And so to the main
event. Often over disciplined and constricted on the new release,
Autobahn were captivating and infinitely watchable in the live arena.
The tightly wound coil they are on record is allowed to unfurl; a
brooding snarl of sound that pulsed out over the crowd, until it
gradually spilled over, saturating every dark corner with earnest
emotion. Early in the set, A Beautiful Place To Die was
exquisitely wretched in its delivery; a souped-up murder ballad that
puts goosebumps on goosebumps.
Their performance
bubbled over with sinister undertones of vitriol and bitterness that
is simply absent from Dissemble, or at least not as well executed.
Older EP tracks were, as is often the case, better received by the
assembled masses, but Deprivation went down well, possibly by
virtue of being closest in sound to previous releases. Best track by
far is Suicide Saturday, a twisting, driving rain of a song
that eventually explodes into a crescendo of aural lightening that
splinters the air. Slightly sooner than expected, it's all over, and
they amble off stage before ambling back for an almost shambolic
encore; the dark brooding stage personas temporarily gone and
replaced with the reality of a gang of mates surviving the inevitable
indulgences of touring.
A little worse for wear
perhaps; the impression is that after the business of last night in
London, this, their homecoming of sorts, is the pleasure angle, but
the show is no less, and perhaps more, enjoyable for it. They seem
comfortable with their performance in that professionalised way that
only bands that have played with each other day in day out can be,
but without making it seem a job they're going through the motions
for. Autobahn thrive up on stage and are a joy to watch, their
gloom-punk far better for the wide camera angle of voyeurism than the
minutiae magnifying glass of record.
Words - Angi Strafford
Photos - Robin Chamberlain
Autobahn Official
Brudenell Official