Snapped Ankles
Despite being a slightly cold Tuesday night, the NAC was remarkably packed. Firstly it was opened by the fantastically abstract Adrena Adrena. Drum-kit amongst the distant crowd, he faced a globe, with various images that included ice formations, large moving eyeballs and wide landscapes (a collaboration with artist Daisy Dickenson). It made for an anxious showing, and one that felt both cerebral and entrancing. Each motif flowed into eachother seamlessly, unsettling creaky synths shimmied in the background. The soundscape was intoxicatingly strange, and the technical ability was impressive to say the least, echoing Eno, or others of his variety.
Following Adrena Adrena was Nuha Ruby Ra. It was a strange event, similarly surreal and uncomfortable. With the word ‘Rise’ and the extinction rebellion symbol drawn onto her chest and shrouded in smoke, there was something unnerving about it all. Nuha Ruby Ra contorted her body as she screamed ‘Rise’ down the microphone, it could have sent chills down the toughest of punters – each movement created a ripple in the thick smoke. ‘I wish this barrier wasn’t here, I want to get closer to you’, she announced, at this point, the crowd probably quite glad the barrier was there, and maybe hoping it was a bit bigger. She sauntered into the crowd, making eye contact with people as she sung slightly discordantly and moved through them. She disclosed how she usually played with a band, and it was rather quite unfortunate they couldn’t be there – it’d have undoubtedly added a wider range of layers and textures. However, the intimacy garnered by her being solo would have not at all been matched. At the end of the set, anticipation had reached its climax. Both support bands seemed to have been deliberate artistic choices, both threatening, and uncomfortable but in completely different ways.
The main event, Snapped Ankles came on – ghillie masks, or rather ancient-norse-myth-masks, all equipped. After a brief introduction and a proposition to turn off the white lights, making the whole stage green, they got into it. It probably wasn’t until ‘Tailpipe’ that it actually kicked off, the energy levels of the room hit critical levels as they riffed on the primal-industrial electro-punk motif for what seemed like an unmeasurable time. Lead Snapped Ankle headed into the crowd armed with their mic-cross-tree and drum stick. Snapped Ankles felt dangerous, chaotic and some what unpredictable. The bass at times lacked clarity though, which was unfortunate given how prominently clear it is on record. The drums felt a bit too overblown as well, but nonetheless the louder percussion really brought out the Krauty-Motorik rhythms that were kept so mechanically tight throughout, like a never-ending dance rhythm. The driving drum allowed the synth cacophony to swirl and twist around the other noises. At times the question of whether they were ever going to stop, or just continue into the night seemed unanswerable. It was a triumphant set despite some sound setbacks, the lighting work was stunning throughout the evening and everything from Dial the Rings on a Tree, to I Want My Minutes Back got a play, and an excitable reception to match. Eventually, the party came to a close, and what was an ecstatic evening felt like it ended a bit too abruptly, but that is the law of all things good.
