ZZZ’s @: Shacklewell Arms 5th May

We drove down 4 hours from Leeds to get to London to the Bad Vibrations/ Pop Noire night at Shacklewell Arms on Monday because: 1) We’re massive Savages geeks and guitarist Gemma Thompson was doing a solo set as Bashan. 2) A post-punk band from Japan called ZZZs were headlining and we wanted to check them out. Obviously Gemma’s set was A.M.A.Z.E. The stage was freakin tiny but the sound emanating from her guitar and the visual projections created an illusion of space and expanse that seemed to melt the walls in the room down. Standing in the crowd, listening intently, I felt like, yeah we are in the desert, just like the one in that projection. No, actually: WE HAVE BECOME THE FUCKING DESERT. Total reverb-drenched aural journey. Post-rock, drone-y ambient goodness. I couldn’t help but feel relieved for some reason – watching and hearing Gemma letting go on the guitar in a continuous wall of sound, it felt like a massive release for her, like this was the sound, the evolution she’s growing into. And such control. Such calm, control and finesse with the guitar. It was glorious. And then. ZZZs. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t (…)