GoGo Penguin @ Norwich Arts Centre
Nothing short of stunning.
What’s in a name? I wonder how many people glance through their local gig listings, spot an unknown band called GoGo Penguin and think, d’ya know what, I might leave it? It would be a shame because on a night like this, when the trio roll up at the Arts Centre and deliver something akin to a masterclass, you’d truly be missing out. The venue is sold out, in any case, so no need to worry about that for now.
When GoGo break open their can of excellence with All Res and Unspeakable World from brand spanking new album Man Made Object it becomes quickly apparent that this isn’t going to be a by-the-numbers affair. Chris Illingworth pulls up shades of Philip Glass from his piano, a deft and soothing runway from which bandmates Rob Turner and Nick Blacka launch their jet-engined contributions. Turner works his kit with fevered precision, shifting pieces of metal around the skins on the fly and making percussion so much more than a mere backbone to these tracks. Blacka seems to have loaded his double bass with some kind of artillery, a howling, screeching, thudding weapon that obliterates all usual expectations of what the upright four-string can do.
Such is the strength of GoGo’s material that nothing is needed to gloss the finish, and there is joy to be found in the purity of their show. Three unassuming men meander on stage, briefly acknowledge the crowd, then get their heads down and simply play. That’s it. These electronic compositions harnessed in acoustic vessels are special things. At times they strike a gentle sweet spot, warm and comforting. At others they swan dive right into storms of unfathomable timing that would rip lesser bands apart only to come racing through the other side unscathed. GoGo fill their sound to the brim with invention and unspoken feeling and the end result is nothing short of stunning.
