Never before has a venue rumbled and bumbled due to volume as much as tonight. With a sound that is loud enough to make My Bloody Valentine quiver, Esben and The Witch were making their sold out return to Brighton at the hollowed cobbles of the Green Door Store.

Esben and The Witch are a band that have floated on the peripheries of the alternative rock scene for a while, never quite being a band to easily pigeonhole whatsoever. They emerged at the back end of the last decade, erupting within a Brighton scene that was still celebrating the likes of The Kooks and The Maccabees. However, regardless of the indie credentials that the city was claiming at the time, Esben and The Witch fought against the storm with their obsession with loud, quiet and then a hell of a lot louder song structures. Those that revolved around sparsity before engulfing you within a tidal wave of noise, the type that really hits you like a fever. Their debut album, released back in 2010 dictated the initiative of the group as it evidenced from the off that they were a band not to follow suit and the blind-leading-the-blind glory hunting of fame hungry egos that were so desperate to jump onto the indie-rock scene. They are now three albums deep and a batch of EP’s wide, for a band of three, they have the work ethic of a squad of eleven – a real testament and good example of how hard working musicians should be. Never satisfied with staying still for too long and having recently released their most experimental concept so far, 2015’s A New Nature – I was keen to see how they could interpret their sound in a live setting.

The lights fall at around 9pm as a trio of shadows shuffle onstage as stark orange beams shoot up, omitting silhouettes upon the backdrop. It is a real suggestion of a good set when bands take such pride in setting an ambience at shows like this; there is something truly reassuring about a set when bands pay attention to things asides from the actual music. From here, it’s a sea of noise that we are embedded within. The brooding rumble and intensity of ‘Press Heavenwards!’ sprawls for ten minutes or so, stitching together elements of doom, gothic darkness and complete desolation. It’s exceptionally haunting, the way that front woman, Rachel Davies can cut through silence with her sharp, icy voice – it’s something reminiscent of Portishead’s Beth Gibbons. Such stark isolation is then shattered with the trio’s unison of noise and volume. At ten minutes, it’s a long song to justify playing and it certainly irks some crowd members, however in reflection it’s a song that has a certain audience and to a certain few, this level of musicianship is something utterly desirable. You get the sense at times that the song feels a little too stitched together, you question whether it is an actual song as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of continuity. It is the type of music that would make a fantastic OST for a Christopher Nolan film but in a live setting, it struggles to find its feet properly and become the song that its album recording suggests.

The band begin to find their feet as they progress though the set, cutting through into songs such as ‘Dig Your Fingers’ – a song that maintains the general groove of the song somewhat more. A consistent melody is repeated as Davies recites the haunting line of the song title, generating the claustrophobic, intense environment that Esben and The Witch so deserve as a band.

As an overall set, it ebbs and flows between intrigue, intensity and just an overbearing wall of noise. For fans of A Place To Bury Stangers or Ringo Deathstarr and the like, it perhaps is perfect. It’s loud, abrasive and at times completely captivating however, the small, intimate environment of The Green Door Store perhaps tries to tame a beast that does not warrant taming. It smothers the sound allowing for nothing but complete volume.

‘No Dog’ shuffles slightly, lurching forwards with its powerful unison of instruments, bolshy and blistering in every sense, it gets to you like the playground bully and shakes you off your feet. ‘The Jungle’ is mesmerising with its lyrical story, the passage of a woman who becomes ensnared within the woods but at 14 and a half minutes, is this too long for a set? It makes perfect sense on the album because it gives you chance to sit back and engage with the song on a narrative level; to experience it live, it’s a brave move – and this is entirely commendable to the band. However, it is bound to isolate certain audience members who want something a little more engaging. This point once again emphasises the notion that Esben and The Witch would make a fantastic group to write a film score.

When older songs such as ‘Marching Song’ are showcased, Esben and The Witch find their dynamic more, they find the songwriting skill that they possess away from the huge, narrative discoveries. It is these that grip the audience more, engaging with them and becoming the captivating, confrontational group that they are known to be.

Esben and The Witch are an experience, they are a band that are bound to test music’s regulations and they will often shatter these, however their music is cast towards a certain type of audience, particularly the material of the latest album, A New Nature. To go with such a divisive strategy carries its risks and this is something that I’m sure the group had in mind when pulling together a set-list. However, it ultimately felt like it slightly misfired leaving what could have been a fantastic affair to be slightly frustrating. On record, Esben and The Witch stand as one of the most forward thinking, progressive groups around with their interesting dynamic of gothic rock. However, live it can strike an unfortunately frustrating chord if it is not executed with precision, or perhaps a little more audience engagement.
Tom Churchill

Website: esbenandthewitch.co.uk
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