If you ever wanted such a severe lesson in musicianship, this was to be the show to be at. It was a cold, blustery night outside but the only wet gale that was to be blowing inside was to be that sourced at the sweat erupting from Physics’ drummer, Dave Morgan’s forehead as he threw himself around behind the drums. For a show that was to be eclipsed within lavish lighting and even better music, this was to be quite the homecoming show for The Physics House Band.

Opening the night was Mutiny On The Bounty, a band hailing from the far flung lands of Luxembourg; a band wrapped up within technical ability with the poise and elegance of tap dancers as they flung themselves backwards and forwards upon some space-age pedal set-ups. The group erupted into their performance at break neck speed with both guitarists finding their groove quickly, providing the charismatic performance that you never necessarily relate to math-rock. Where they stuttered slightly was within the substance behind their performance; their musical prowess when it comes to technicality is unquestionable but you couldn’t help but want a little more, want a little structure and hook to the whole thing.

After a confusing mix-up with set times that saw The Physics House Band duck and dive around the 9pm mark, it’s safe to say the wait was without a doubt worth it. When issues were fixed with bassist, Adam Hutchinson’s synthesiser, it was into washing cool, ambient sounds, cast down with stark blue lighting. As silhouettes emerged onstage, it was to their opening track from their début LP, ‘ObliskMonolith’, a track that pummels through jarring mixtures of icy atmospheric washes and stabbing piano lines before collapsing onto the fantastic groove of Hutchinson’s bass sections; all the while Morgan intersects with his thundering drumming style.

From here, The Physics House Band swerve through their debut LP, Horizons/Rapture whilst contrasting this with their new material which they promise us is in the pipeline for a release soon enough. The technical prowess of Hutchinson, Morgan and Sam Organ is enough to make any other band of the math-rock/psychedelic genre feel like nothing more than six-year-olds with blow up electric guitars that they squandered from their class mate’s birthday party. The likes of ‘Teratology’ tore through Patterns as the closing track of the night, the sharp off cutting beats kept punters on the edge of their toes, keen to see which psychedelia infused math-rock route we would get ushered down next; the looming riffs of Organ’s guitar pummelled and gave this music that riff that it so desperately needs to keep it intriguing. The same can be said of ‘Titan’ which sounds just as monolithic live as the record would suggest with its full throttle, abrasive opening seeing delicate keys getting off set with the racing pattern of Morgan and Hutchinson’s tight rhythm.

It is this fascination with contrast and juxtaposition that makes The Physics House Band such a pleasure to watch. They are erratic and energetic in every sense, desperate to showcase what they can do and put it into some logical, comprehensive format. The music throws you around in a world of jazz, prog and ambience that at times sounds as far out as the likes of Spacemen 3 before cutting back in with its prog and math-rock influences – the likes of Alt-J come to mind mixed with the force of Three Trapped Tigers. It’s psychotic and chaotic and to witness this ability live is a first for me but certainly not a last. The coherence with how the music ran in tangent with the lighting worked perfectly for the group, seeing them thrust underneath eruptive reds and blues with lighting rods at the back marvellously complimenting the performance – there’s something enticing about a show that sees little but shadows and mammoth riffs.

After debuting some sections of their new material and Adam Hutchinson making the announcement that they have been in the studio for the past week, it certainly acted as a way to wet some tongues in the crowd. All we can do from here is keep our ears down to the ground and hope it drops sometime soon because after hearing it live, boy it’s worth staying up for.
Tom Churchill
Photos by Ollie Thomas