Blanck Mass @ NAC
An immense, immersive sound
It is a cold, frosty Sunday night, and it's time to scrape the car off for tonight and head for the deconsecrated church that is the Arts Centre that is playing host to a blanck mass.
Jay Popop And The Noise (aka Pip Cotterill of BK & Dad) evolve with every gig. Less than a month since I last saw ’em, the electronic, percussive sound continues to grow ever more intense. Having Pip play a weird, deconstructed, two string guitar with a bow at various points adds overtones of the drones of Sunn O))) to a sound that calls to mind the Autechre or Clint Mansell’s work on the Pi OST. With some simple but clever and effective lighting (hello Rosie) and – say it quietly – even a bit of showmanship from Jay, this was the best set I have seen from Popop.
Blanck Mass is the solo Benjamin John Power of Fuck Buttons. Opening with Loam from this year’s second album, Dumb Flesh, the sound is not that different to his other act but, if anything, this is a little more straight ahead and song based. The stage moves are limited to head nods and there’s no between song banter but that is surely not the point. With the combination of an immense, immersive sound and some stunning, if sometimes disturbing, visuals by Dan Tombs, this is a gently euphoric experience that most, if not all of the audience, quickly get lost in.
9/10
