TVAM's tour in support of new album Ruins, released last Friday, headed to The Common Rooms in Newcastle on Saturday night supported by Marina Zispin. Gillian Heal was there to report back.
Marina Zispin is a two piece collaboration of Martyn Reid and Bianca Scout. These two North East natives have been making music since before lockdown. With dreamlike vocals, their hypnotic ambient sounds draw you in and take you on a journey. There is something about them that screams they are going to be big!
They crashed headfirst into the gig with enormous feedback, which grabbed your attention from the get-go. Their first song was Hymn which is a track from their 2023 album Life And Death: The Five Chandeliers Of The Funereal Exorcisms. Hymn has a great subtle back beat of electronic drum, along with some haunting high vocals and sound samples giving it an 80s synth feel.
Bianca’s vocal style can be high and airy or sometimes raucous, and along with her provocative performance keeps you engaged and seized with a vice-like grip. Martyn meanwhile keeps the sounds churning out, looking sharp in his shirt and tie. He also takes the mic for several tracks, clearly demonstrating these musicians are a great collaboration.
Their style evokes the sounds of synth-pop and at times dream like electronic, Analog synth experimental noise with hints towards Grimes, and also The Fall, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, OMD, Roxy Music - all cool nostalgic 80s alternative rock/pop. With the addition of Martyn’s samples, this is a superb melting pot of sound.
The stage was really busy with kit and cables, but that didn’t stop them moving around, dancing and creating drama with an engaging set, including Bianca’s marionette guitar pose and her playful alluring moves.
They have an intense energy often including chaotic audio, sighs, dancing around the stage and at one point Bianca’s crazy laugh. Then move into slow, ominous drones or a deep resonant bass with the 80s synth beat running throughout.
New track Girls Night Out, was a fun song reminiscent of party nights gone by. Speaking to them later, Bianca said she wanted the song ‘to be nice’ but Martyn commented that they don’t ‘do’ nice songs. He prefers an undercurrent of disquiet and likes the potential hedonistic unpredictability of a night out. Loving horror from a young age, you can hear his influences in the tracks. Some sounds include elements of industrial noises, whispering and tempos encouraging the heartbeat to quicken.
When asked how they write their songs, Bianca said they share music ideas and lyrics while Martyn produces the music. Revealing that they are actually singing ‘her dreams’ she explained the lyrics of a new track with Martyn on vocals. The Dream Council has the lyrics ‘Expert in Contamination’, which had come to Bianca in a dream. Keep those dreams coming!
TVAM have been labelled as a post-punk, modern darkwave/synth band and they showed they have what it takes to play in a venue that marries the juxtaposition of a beautiful old building with their progressive sounds and storytelling. The stage was set with three large TV screens to add depth and visual interest to the show.
The Common Room, set within the unique Neville Hall, showcases how cities are reimaging the use of diverse buildings. The room is dominated by a magnificent stained glass window used as a backdrop to the stage, which sits alongside ancient statues and oak panelling. This creates an austere atmosphere which works gloriously well with the hypnotic beauty of TVAM’s experimental rhythms, heavy drums and dark noise that pushes down into your soul.
Their sound has been described as goth and darkwave, but also has a haunting depth with loud synth layers that leaves shoegaze trailing behind. Their newly released album Ruins ‘explores themes of grief and loss’ and there’s a synth vein winding itself through each track. This coiling energy is a spirit with a low grind, along with loud pounding drums and deep pulsing beats. TVAM’s show is visually engaging with graphics and lights moving from dark to stark white, which retains your interest until the end and leaves you yearning for more.
Joe Oxley has a real presence on stage, he is tall and unflinching with an assertive quiet confidence in his music. He plays with a band on this tour, (drums and electronics/synth) which creates a louder sound and energy that justifies TVAM’s following.
The gig was a performance of the new album Ruins with a few tracks from previous albums thrown in for good measure: Double Lucifer from the High Art Lite album and Porsche Majeure / Total Immersion from the Psychic Data album.
A favourite of mine, Porsche Majeure gets right under your skin. It makes you move like a snake has taken over your body and dipped you in treacle. There’s no escape - give into it.
Recent release Powder Blue, evokes that urgent feeling when you hear a tune in a club and you need to run to the dance floor! It has that alternative 80s type vibe that makes you close your eyes and just move and you don’t care who’s watching.
The Words is the brilliant new single out this weekend. It has a quick beat and a real striking rhythm, with almost a pop sound to it. Again another track to fall in love with and keep on replay. It’s so easy to dance to with a great drum beat. The lyrics are dark, but the sound is an uplifting journey.
The whole gig had a dark energy, interspersed with a flowing sound that was engaging and reminiscent of 80s bands such as Depeche Mode and OMD, especially the Love Like Glue track which is a modern take on this genre.
TVAM's website can be found here as well as Facebook. The tour continues at Leeds Hyde Park Book Club (March 3), Birmingham Hare And Hounds (4), Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach (5), Bristol Strange Brew (6), Manchester Soup (7), Brighton Hope And Ruin (10), London Lower Third (11), Cambridge Portland Arms (12) and Ramsgate Music Hall (20).
Follow Even The Stars on Twitter at @eventhestarsuk and like our Facebook page for all the latest updates
No comments:
Post a Comment