Live Review: 65daysofstatic, Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving

Sheffield four-piece 65daysofstatic are just one of those bands that are guaranteed a packed turnout every time they head to Perth. Their relentless energy and aggressiveness have made touring year-round a priority for them, and luckily they rarely skip past the most isolated city in the world. 

Their openers, locals Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving, are no strangers to the raw energy that comes with a 65days gig. Settling in with some doomy, piano-driven tracks, TToL filled the tiny Amplifier stage with as much dense and complex instrumentation as they could muster. Ben Stacy’s masterful jazz drumming got great sound from the room, and some re-jigging of tracks brought out a more distorted and tribal edge to TToL’s sound. Ron Pollard’s key setup has become a Frankenstein’s monster of pedals, pads and various gadgets; it’s exciting to see so much experimentation still going into what they do.

65daysofstatic are usually pretty low-key when they get on stage, if only for the reason that throwing out a wall of sound from the get-go is usually as much of a welcome as they need. Heat Death Infinity Splitter was clearly the right choice with which to open. It’s impossible to not get caught up in the gradual build-up and its cacophonous crescendo. From there, the band jumped around from new to old material, with Wild Light getting the deepest look-in. 

After a short Australian tour that’s been hampered by various hiccups, the band were obviously keen to let out some pent-up frustration. Luckily, there was little to fault in their set and in the set-up, leading to a pretty flawless set that rarely let up in momentum, which is something over a two-hour slot. With a lot more now in the works for 65daysofstatic, it’s always great to be reminded why this band have stayed at the top of their game for so long.