Much like the band they are supporting, Fabulous Diamonds have released a relatively less acerbic release in Fabulous Diamonds II. I’m pretty sure their set featured some material from that release, though it’s difficult to discern due to the band’s aversion to both song titles and conventional structure. The slow-burning build-up of noise was incredibly hypnotic, with it proving impossible to decipher whether we were hearing a swirling array of loops or effective delay usage on the drumkit.
It was an enthralling set. So enthralling that I failed to notice the room had pretty much cleared out in front of me throughout the set. Good music, but maybe not conducive to everybody’s Saturday night palate.
Times New Viking are a good looking bunch, but also a funny looking bunch. All three members project a distinct respective aesthetic, much like a trio of undercover ticket inspectors. It’s probably the clash of disparate approaches which leads to such a frenetic output, or maybe the pool of musos in Ohio makes for slim pickings.
Drummer Adam Elliot is no doubt the most tenacious of the trio, muttering something along the lines of “Alright, 21 songs – let’s go,” at the beginning of the set. Hey wasn’t lying, nor was he fucking around.
The band played like they were challenging each other to a breath-holding contest, heightening tension over the course of a half-dozen tracks before relenting to a half-minute break between songs – and even then, one of the few breaks was necessitated by a broken-string-induced guitar changeover.
No Room To Live was given a more ferocious edge thanks to some intensified drum work, manifesting into an entirely different beast compared to the mellow LP cut. Momentum was carried throughout the tail end of the set, with a delightfully sloppy runthrough of possibly the band’s greatest track in Born Again Revisited cut Move To California. Fuck Her Tears provided a soaring crescendo to proceedings, and before we knew it, the promised 21 songs were up. Despite a poorly attended bandroom, it was indeed a belter of a set. Would it be too much to ask for a slot at the Supernatural Amphitheatre come March long weekend next year?
