Back in November, I went off to see Dope Stars Inc. at the Scala. Just for the record, they're a great live band and I highly suggest seeing them. Totally chaotic, but even the things that go wrong seem like a part of the set and are just part of the evening's fun, and in between the mishaps they're a much underrated band.
Anyway, they had three support acts: the first I can't remember and weren't much cop (hence not remembering) and then there were two enjoyable ones: Ghost Of Lemora are a London-based goth band that have a good handle on distorted-guitar post-punk goth, all done with a sickly sense of humour and a surprisingly powerful stage show. (Once again, worth seeing. I'll probably work my way round to mentioning them again some point.)
However, the band I'm writing about here is The Night Terrors, who are from Australia and are really unlike anything I've heard before or since. I suppose that if you have any familiarity with Nine Inch Nails' 'Ghosts' double album you might sense some similarities, but this is an entirely more surreal beast.
I suppose I should've been aware that this won't be a normal band as soon as the skinny blond guy started setting up a box with metal bits sticking out of it and my friend said "oh my god, he's got a theremin!" The guy then proceded to have technical difficulties setting it up (the tech problems plagued all the bands, yet all but the first forgotten lot battled with them and came out victorious) and a man at the back shouted: "More power, Miles! Give it more power!" Which provoked a smile from this enigmatic man with his box. To be honest, as a general rocker I was a bit confused by the drums/synth/theremin setup that seemed to be growing on stage.
Anyway, Miles came back on stage with his other theremin that worked, went away, and came back with a rather fetching bass guitar and the other two members came on stage and got ready to blow some minds.
How do I describe The Night Terrors? Well, for a start, it is an instrumental act. Miles is for all intents and purposes the frontman, but instead of using his voice he alternates between grindingly distorted yet melodic bass playing, and some of the best theremin playing I've ever come across. He treats it not as a novelty wee-woo spookbox, but as an honest instrument in its own right, and it serves as good as any vocals when he uses it, bringing out some really great melodies. Not to mention a rather adorable accidental thumbs-up noise. Complimenting this dual-layered sonic attack is the synths, that once again are treated as a real instrument, creating some really amazing soundscapes. The drumming is like a schizophrenic metronome, skittering around the melodies yet holding them together brilliantly.
Live, they're a truly surreal phenomenon: totally enigmatic in their style, yet incredibly approachable in their occasional good-natured banter with the audience in between launching into fierce yet beautiful pieces of music. Despite the lack of a conventional lineup that might prove fatal for many bands in a live setup, this lot were able to keep a floor of cyberpunks, deathrockers, goths and metalheads pretty much awestruck for a whole set. Despite the synth and theremin, there's an incredible sense of energy and passion in the band, with the musicianship holding you in place and if things start getting a bit static, the bass comes out and you watch Miles suddenly launch from mysterious master of the box with bits sticking out of it into his own little metal act. Hell, they even rattled off a recognisable Motörhead cover with style, although apparently on that night they were "a bit more jazz-sounding" than usual.
On CD, their musical ability is even more evident. They've got one full-length album out: 'Back To Zero', and two EPs: 'The Night Terrors' and 'Lightless'. In all of them, the bass offers up a crunching undercurrent that gives a real momentum to the strange, often eerie and intensely atmospheric synth playing. The drums clatter madly from start to finish yet never overstep the mark, and the whole thing blends together fantastically right from their earliest work. The only complaint I can think to offer is that occasionally they get a little carried away in the chaos, and it begins to feel slightly confusing and/or self-indulgent, but these moments are few and far between, even over the course of three CDs. I could happily listen to their entire discography without break and feel like I've spent my time well.
Despite the lack of vocals and lyrics, each track has a recognisable 'mood' and feel to it, with some obvious tearjerkers and moments of beautiful melancholy mostly provided by a fluid synth/theremin duet, some raging punk rock rants, often heavy on the growling bass and pounding drums, and even some uplifting moments where the synth really comes into its own. But in all honesty, I have never come across a lineup like this, and neither have I come across anyone able to express so much through a theremin. It can go from wailing dirges through to angry tirades to expressions of joy with no contrivance and not a single word, and even though it is constantly masked in a fog of growling distortion that sounds like an angry jet-propelled train coming at you over cobblestones, the bass is capable of just as much pure human expression. If these make the characters, the synth is the scenery. It uses a multitude of sounds to create a backdrop to the emotion, expressing anything from the shadowed recesses of the human psyche to a beautiful innocent realm. The drums are wonderfully versatile, being both arrhythmic yet constantly keeping everything in line with itself, and at times are what saves the whole thing from getting a little too artsy and noodly for its own good.
Basically, this band are a totally alien experience, but definitely something worth experiencing. Entrancing on both stage and CD, they're a necessary part of the musical underground and deserve a huge recognition for being brave and adventurous enough to do what they do. And anyone who names a track 'Existential Revelation In The Circle Pit At Slayer' has my respect.
Whether you're into Pink Floyd or Motörhead, anyone with an ear for melody or just a good sound will probably find at least one thing to smile about here.
http://www.myspace.com/thenightterrors
