Gig review: Gathering Lights; Electric Circus
Nine months in the making and featuring members of previous Edinburgh notables Cry Over Billionaires, X-Tigers, Lions Chase Tigers and Penguins Kill Polar Bears, Gathering Lights are something of a supergroup – experienced, talented and confident, yet not without an element of indie self-consciousness.
The music – gargantuan and widescreen – is, for the most part, instrumental. The arrangements are slightly mathematical and this formidable five-piece are clearly fans of the quiet-bit/loud-bit approach.
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Hide AdVisually, there’s a fair amount of stubble to be seen on their faces and the hairstyles are (mainly) of the sharp, buzz-cut fashion. Yet whilst the focus is certainly on the tunes, they also like to concentrate on the imaginary gum stuck on their brogues, such is the amount of shoe-gazing going on).
Playing a half-hour set, their panoramic soundscapes could easily play out as one long piece. And just like the changeable weather we’ve been experiencing, the band barrage through all the elements – creeping up on you with crispy autumn-morning frostiness, before ending in a flurry of twinkling melodies and bubbling bass.
In short, the perfect soundtrack to some moody, independent Scottish movie.
Comprising three guitars, bass and shock-absorbing drums, you get the feeling vocals will, eventually, play a larger part in their make-up. When the human voice was allowed to air, it sounded light and ethereal; a fine complement to their smoother-sounding melodies. Indeed, this is the sound of a promising band finding their feet, a group testing their wares on a healthy-sized audience who, you could just tell, were urging them to do well. As debuts go, they couldn’t have asked for better.
“We’re Gathering Lights – this is our first show,” said the band’s frontman.
“History in the making,” came the shout from a man at the back of the room.
Spoken like a true prophet.
Rating: * * *