YUCK, Polterghost & Mega Emotion // NAC - 20.11.2013
A mixed evening thanks perhaps to prescription drugs (but no beer)
Okay, this review may not truly represent the evening. For various dull medical reasons, I almost didn't make it. Thanks to some prescription pain killers, I got there with moments to spare but the world was looking distinctly soft focus....
Things start well with Mega Emotion. This was perhaps not the best performance from this very promising new(ish) trio but songs like 'Suck Gold', 'They Only Come Out At Night' and 'Luck Dragon' manage to mix early 80s Depeche-style electro with grungy guitars and School of Seven Bells harmonies to great effect. Tonight, those two- and three-part vocal harmonies were a little off but I'll put this down to illness. The stand out song is current single 'Brains', an almost perfect pop song that combines 'Pretty Hate Machine'-era Nine Inch Nails with The Rapture to great effect. (8/10)
Polterghost are very heavy, with a sound that has elements of St Vitus, Candlemas or Sunn 0))) style doom metal meets the grunge of Pixies or Placebo. This trio is clearly musically talented but didn't really do it for me, with far too much squiddly-widdly guitar soloing for my tastes. (5/10)
Now for a dilemma. Yuck's set of alt-rock is very well played and the songs are good and bordering on excellent but tonight's performance was just not very exciting. Maybe those painkillers were interfering with my judgment or maybe the band had the 'last night of the tour' blues but I just wanted a little more action. So, I was not impressed enough to stay 'til the end of the gig but was impressed enough to buy 'Glow & Behold' the next day. (7/10)
Pavlis
