Possibly the most “Baba Yaga’s Hut” line-up ever conceived, this Bush Hall show happened on a sweltering Saturday (09/09/23) in the wake of Supersonic Fest. Air conditioning made the venue an oasis. It was a stellar night full of esoteric sounds, with music and lyrics motivated both by deeply personal battles and vital global causes.
Jessica Moss
Things started low-key for with Jessica Moss, best known for her contributions to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but also boasting a significant solo discography of her own. She encouraged the early attendees to take a seat on the carpeted floor. Her music is based on live-sampling of her violin through a looper, extrapolating it into frequencies that are colourful and deep. A challenge of loop based performances is that they lack surprises due to the simple compositional approach forced upon you, but Moss has fully overcome this problem. She adds in extra samples and extensively re-pitches during long loops, meaning each sound’s source is ethereal, and you never get too used to the sounds that drift in and out. Many of the violin parts were designed to stack in a stunningly melodic way.
Ragana
On their second visit to the UK and first for many years, Ragana were performing just ahead of the release of their next LP Desolation’s Flower. I’d describe them as punk fuelled doom duo – simple riffs and slogan-like lyrics in the punk tradition, but the misery and timbre of doom metal. Occasionally tempos were stepped up, which was particularly impressive as the two members swapped instruments several times, and both had vocal duties. They spoke about being inspired by anarchy, dedicated pieces to attending queer and trans listeners, and sung about the first moment they understood the sensation of “not belonging”. The lyric “There is no return to a place before pain” took root in me, a moment I’ll look out for on the upcoming release.
Dawn Ray’d
This was the final Dawn Ray’d performance – the band called it a day just one week later. They kept this plan to themselves, and simply delivered an excellent set that’s been well practiced after extensive touring. Bush Hall’s decadence clashed brilliantly with the black metal anarchism of Dawn Ray’d, with folk-inspired vocal delivery over churning blast beats and crispy trem-picking. The determined atmosphere was maintained in tuning breaks through bespoke interludes you won’t find on the 2023 record To Know The Light. The band gave their typical, poignant pitch for anarchism in the modern age, and their intention upon breakup seems to be to double down on that mission. We wish them the very best, and thank them deeply for their contributions to the UK scene.
BIG|BRAVE
If you’ve ever plugged a mic into a speaker and played with the feedback, you’ll know there’s plenty of skill required to control the sound just right. BIG|BRAVE have really perfected that science, keeping their interlaced feedback going strong through monitor-related tech pauses. They’ve been playing the whole of nature morte for their 2023 shows, a challenging album that sheds all vestiges of post rock and metal tradition to forge something new. The tuning space and timbre the guitars occupied made the wall of sound entirely unique among contemporary feedbackers, and the drum writing focuses on uncomfortable patterns. My favourite moment was when the band weaved their way into the instrumental “my hope renders me a fool” for a precious passage of high-distortion solace.
