Menomena / Empty Pools @ Nice N' Sleazy, 23 November

With their slightly off-kilter approach to indie rock songwriting, Bristol's Empty Pools are right at home on tonight's bill. With a sound that's less predictable and more energy-injected than your average jangly indie rock quartet, they're instantly refreshing. Though not conventionally catchy, their songs are well thought-out structurally and carry a soaring, dreamy quality held together by Aaron Dewey's urgent, slightly mathy drumming style. 

 

As Plumage, the opener to this year's Moms begins to unfold in a live context, it's strikingly evident that Menomena are in a healthier place than they were during the turmoil-ridden Mines tour prior to the departure of founding member Brent Knopf. Though they now officially operate as a duo, the necessary extra instrumental duties (keyboard, sax, additional guitar) are fulfilled by a pleasingly enthusiastic, instrument-swapping backing band, bringing their membership up to five. On record, their bloated jams are expertly crafted and painstakingly layered over one-another; tonight, they colourfully explode in unison, and it's breathtaking.

 

The bulk of the set focuses on new material, peppered by some carefully selected older cuts; the lush gloom of Queen Black Acid and hooky fan-favourite Muscle'n Flo are sure-fire highlights. Though many songs have uncomfortable, often harrowing subject matter, little can be done to downplay wholehearted jiving on the crowd's part. Sassy closer TAOS prompts repeated, desperate cries of “one more tune!”, and the sobering notion that this band might have ceased to exist if it weren't for the determination of the remaining members truly hits home.