Anything that came after the sheer transcendental wonderfulness of Bjork was destined to pale in comparison, but the long-missed Bristol trip-hop legends’ triumphant return to the fray still thoroughly impressed. Beth Gibbons doesn’t strike you as the most obvious of frontwomen, but her edgy, reserved, nervous presence perfectly compliments the dark, oppressive sound they’ve honed to a tee on new album Third. Lit by a simple, immensely effective monochrome lighting scheme, this show was all about the music- the lack of spectacle only enhancing the heightened sense atmosphere their songs create. Glory Box was the inevitable highlight, only spoilt by the lady behind me whose piercing vocals drowned out that of the singer we’d paid to hear but the new material was very impressive; relentlessly downbeat for the most part but always infused with their trademark haunted beauty. Must admit that it started to drag a bit after the first hour, but for a band getting back into the swing of things after a decade’s hiatus they did an exemplary job.
(Photo: Skunk Funk (Flickr))
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