65daysofstatic @ O2 Academy 2, Liverpool, 28 Apr
Before tonight, the last time 65daysofstatic were on stage together was at the Tufnell Park Dome in north London on 13 November last year.
The show was organised at the last minute, with the money taken on the door to be put towards funding the necessary expenses the following week as the Sheffield outfit joined Deftones on a short trip around Europe. They were supposed to kick things off the following evening in Paris, with the first of three consecutive dates at Le Bataclan. Fate intervened in horrendous fashion and, needless to say, the tour was scrapped.
Nearly six months later, 65daysofstatic return to live performance in the cosy, exposed-brick, arched-over surroundings of Liverpool’s O2 Academy 2. It’s not immediately clear what these shows are in aid of – perhaps just a chance to get back in the saddle – but the band have a new album due in June, which effectively constitutes the soundtrack to the ambitious new adventure video game No Man’s Sky.
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They don’t go wild with the new material tonight, though; just two new cuts are aired. The pulsating Supermoon simmers with aggression, all galloping percussion under walls of reverb, whilst Asimov is similarly incendiary but offers a marked change of pace – the beat is frantic, almost off-kilter, and there’s shrewd use of the quiet-loud dynamic, the guitars falling away only to burst back seconds later.
Otherwise, the set is pretty much dominated by material from Wild Light, the band’s 2013 LP. It’s certainly the most complex and nuanced 65daysofstatic release to date and you absolutely get the impression that the band, quite rightly, remain staunchly proud of it.
From the shuddering theatrics of opener Heat Death Infinity Splitter to the quietly soaring Sleepwalk City and set closer Safe Passage’s warm electronic embrace, this is the album that places 65daysofstatic front and centre of Britain’s instrumental rock vanguard. That they can also pull out the rolling drama of Radio Protector or Debutante’s spaced-out fizz is testament to the formidable body of work they already have behind them.