Taupe make for an appropriately kooky opener, blending elements of free jazz with standard rock to create a sound that brings to mind Black Midi, especially if Black Midi had even less regard for traditional song structure than they already do. They’re loud and abrasive – an ideal complement to the aural assault about to be unleashed by Richard Dawson and Circle.
‘Henki’, the collaborative album by Dawson and Circle is heavy on exposition. Each song is named after a plant and there are tales of ancient seeds, Geordie nurses and their paranormal encounters, and a man on a tree hunt. Each song is wrapped up in a cloak of krautrock, prog-metal, theatrical riffing and whatever else Circle feel like laying down. However, when performed live it’s the metal influences that float closest to the surface.
Almost every song starts off relatively subdued before building and building, reaching a fever pitch of hard-rock guitar and clattering percussion, complete with occasional wails or screams from either Dawson or keyboardist Mika Rättö, or both. Of course, there are variations on these themes across the first six songs, with some double drumming on ‘Ivy’, plenty of vamping from bassist Jussi Lehtisalo or Rättö and endless soloing from either of Circle’s guitarists.
Dawson’s vocals are occasionally swallowed up in the melee of sound, and also face some feedback issues, so the subtler lyrical details are mostly absent, but the skill and sheer force of the playing more than makes up for it. An ecstatic rendering of Circle’s ‘Terminal’ closes the main set as the whole band come together to create a human pyramid of sorts, Janne Westerlund triumphantly raising his guitar into the air as he puts the finishing touches on the most metal of closing moments, while Rättö sprawls across the front of stage, raising a seductive leg skyward.
A cover of ‘Echo Beach’ forms the encore, showing that the band can do krauty new wave just as successfully as metal. They manage to stretch a three minute song into something closer to ten, and that’s without even heading into extended freakout territory as in earlier songs. Dawson simply continues repeating the chorus for what seems like an eternity. It’s a slightly odd end, but the whole band’s magnetism and overflowing joy are alluring and it doesn’t drag in the slightest.