MASH is a venue more often host to sticky-floored, student club nights or tribute bands, as per the promo posters plastered on its walls. But tonight, we are blessed with the real deal. Post-punk four-piece IST IST make their debut on the Cambridge stage following the recent release of their fourth album, Light A Bigger Fire.
First up are Cucamaras with an energetic and engaging support set. They nudge an as-yet small and reticent crowd into action by asking if they’re enjoying themselves and, jokingly, if they’re at least excited for IST IST, who are “just back there”. But the atmosphere builds as their audience expands and the Nottingham-based band reach their standout tracks, such as Bleachers Yard and Laughing.
With the room filled out substantially, IST IST make a punctual 8:30pm arrival. Their set begins as does the new LP: with an invigorating Lost My Shadow and a crowd-delighting The Kiss. The intensity and warmth with which their fans sing back the latter’s chorus show that this visit to Cambridge is as long-awaited as it is loudly appreciated.
All ten songs from Light a Bigger Fire make tonight’s setlist alongside tracks from the band’s previous three albums. In fact, the setlist reaches back beyond these to IST IST’s nascent singles with Night’s Arm, later included on 2020’s Architecture, too. Its live performance has only gained more captivating intensity in the intervening years and, following a galvanising Black, marks a shift in the set towards the band’s more meditative material.
Whilst Light a Bigger Fire is underpinned by Mat Peters’ keys, it is on XXX where they truly come to the forefront. The expansive, layered synths are one of tonight’s apexes. On Repercussions the keys are cut through by a serrated bassline, an archetype of the IST IST sound, which energises the crowd anew. This same energy remains charged throughout Dreams Aren't Enough, Discipline, and the burningly urgent Something Has to Give.
In other cities, IST IST have sold out venues more than double the capacity of this one. As the 10pm curfew draws in, it seems certain that we won’t have them in rooms of this size for much longer – a thought solidified by the strident pairing of What I Know and You’re Mine. As it did at the beginning, the setlist order mirrors that of Light a Bigger Fire and culminates with Ghost. Intrinsically longing and gorgeously sombre, the final track’s impelling keys build until its apotheosis is reached. It's no easy task to pick a high point of such a strong set - but this might be it.
Setlist: Lost My Shadow, The Kiss, Stamp You Out, I Can't Wait For You, Black, Night's Arm, It Stops Where It Starts, XXX, Fool's Paradise, Something Else, Repercussions, Dreams Aren't Enough, Discipline, Something Has To Give, Nothing More Nothing Less, Emily, Hope To Love Again, What I Know, You're Mine and Ghost
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