Electronic five-piece, Vessels, are at the very height of their game right now, with their latest record The Great Distraction containing some of the strongest intricacies within the electronic scene and featuring appearances from the likes of The Flaming Lips, Harkin and John Grant. When the Leeds boys play Sticky Mike’s tonight, they have truly solidified the notion that electronic music is the genre which only keeps on giving.

Opening tonight is Alex Banks, a solo artist who started the night with a dynamic explosion of great creativity and flow. Alex’s tracks lean more on the dance end of the spectrum and, despite electronic music typically being a genre which thrives in more open spaces, his set sounds beautiful despite the crammed nature of Sticky Mike’s. His sound is big and his tunes are so fluid in nature that they each blend excellently with one another. His set progresses with an increase in groovy beats and piercing synths which the crowd seem to be more than on board with, a terrific start to the evening and definitely a name worth looking up!

With what I can only describe as a scene of utter chaos compacted into such a small stage, Vessels each clamber over their extravagant set up of gear and take their positions. From the offset the band’s enthusiasm shows no boundaries, as each proceeds to flourish in their instrument’s capabilities, playing with a great deal of passion and excitement. Being a five-piece group it would be incredibly easy for their sound to feel clumsy or cluttered, however the result is instead a transient emanation of sonic bliss.

Synthesist Tom Evans soon takes to the mic and announces how glad the band are to be playing Brighton once again and proceeds to embark on a nice level of humour with the audience. This was a small addition to the set, but too frequently do electronic artists simply get on with the music without addressing the audience, so the personal touch from the band added a lot to the evening. The drumming duo, Tim Mitchell and Lee J. Malcolm, soon burst into a cohesive sound of awe-inspiring precision, making for a beat which was truly something otherworldly. Not a single note is off mark from either of them and, as the rest of the band begin to fill in the gaps through a delicate synth and overlaying guitar, the piece evolves into a complete kaleidoscope of technological sounds and colour.

I can only imagine Vessels’ sound feeling even bigger and better in a more advanced sound environment, however, Sticky Mike’s have done more than enough to keep the sound feeling suited to the band’s needs and I can see no complaints from the audience. Similarly, the addition of fluorescent lighting tubes adds a much needed visual aspect to the set, making it not only one to enjoy for the ears, but engaging the eyes too, as the band undergo their ludicrous drum patterns and dexterous synth tuning to optimise their sound.

As the set enters its latter stages, Tom announces once more his gratitude for everyone coming down tonight, to which the crowd respond with a deafening applause and demand for an encore which the band gladly comply with, that an ecstatic look on their faces. The final ‘Elliptic’ is ginormous and acted as the perfect send off to the band’s set as the entire room can be seen walking out whispering to one another how amazed they were by the level of intricacy and talent they have just witnessed.

A night with Vessels is a genuinely horizon broadening experience. Electronic music is certainly a genre which never fails to surprise and holds some of the best creative minds from across the globe. Vessels have proven that they are amongst that number and their sound is definitely something that is worth getting excited about. I can only hope to see another Vessels set in a larger environment in the near future and am intrigued to see how they intend on developing their sound with their future releases, because I can assure you that the result would be truly something colossal.

Ben Walker

Website: vesselsband.com
Favebook: facebook.com/Vesselsband
Twitter: twitter.com/Vesselsband