This Will Destroy YouArrows mix post-rock and post-hardcore with pleasantly clean vocals – rather a surprise in the context. The long instrumental patches sometimes feel like they're just fulfilling the obligations of genre, marking time until the vocals kick in, but mostly it's a pleasantly laidback set of nicely constructed rock. Long patches spent retuning in-between songs grow old, but the audience is patient and seems to enjoy the set.
Technical difficulties delay the start of Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving, but eventually they start as the crowd swells. The early tracks see tremolo guitar providing an underlying sound bed, while a complex rhythm drives the music forward, but it's Ron Pollard on piano that lifts the band to another level, playing with a fury to rival Rachmaninoff over the post-rock foundation laid down by his bandmates. The band thrashes in place, contorting to the music, none more so than Pollard, his face writhing to match the physical twists while his hands blur across the keys. There's very little top end here tonight, everything is mids and bass, rumbling away. It keeps the sound intense, but does feel at times like there's something missing. More problems with the bass rig prompt another delay, but it's sorted quickly and the band have time to play a track off their just released album (excellent work) before closing with the older They Found My Skull In The Nest Of A Bird, which remains an almost perfect track.
After the frenetic energy of the supports, it takes a little while to adjust to This Will Destroy You: the long quiet stretches initially come across as a little dull. It's just a different way of approaching music though, of seeing the world, and as memories of the earlier bands fade there's deliberateness to it, a calming sense helped by warm, resonant mid tones and the heavy use of toms. Opener A Three Legged Workhorse is emblematic – slow changes and consistent chords, with the drums taking centre stage for much of the track, propulsive and deep. When they reach crescendo This Will Destroy You are one of the most extreme in the game, walls of noise pulsing out at the end of the track particularly shocking after the lulling lead up. It's hardly unexpected, but the sudden transition makes the most of the shift. The setlist pulls from all three releases and is an excellent overview of the band – Communal Blood and Threads being particular, exceptional highlights. The only downside is that the venue doesn't allow for the immersion the music deserves, which even at its quietest should envelop you. It's a credit to the music and the mix that it is still amazing, but the live experience still only feels like an approximation of the heights it could reach.
