Live Review

British Sea Power – The Masque, Liverpool

• 7th Jun 2010

The opening night of Sound City saw The Masque play host to Brighton’s favourite sons British Sea Power. Armed with a battery of new material and the ever-growing reputation for their near-legendary live shows, theirs is a star still very much in ascendency four albums down the line. Rightly so too. Creativity and fresh ideas never seem to have been much of problem for BSP, something undoubtedly tied to their obvious love of performing.

Tonight they open with the enchanting slow rumble of Lights Out For Darker Skies from 2008’s Do You Like Rock Music?. Immediately they found the kind of form that never seems to desert them in front of an audience.

Renowned for having that tight-knit, ideological essence forming the nucleus of what they do, they carry themselves with a purpose and drive which suggests this may have been the motivation for starting the whole thing in the first place. They make music because they’ve got things to say. And they certainly know how to say it. They always have. They’ve never made a boring piece of music either. The pioneering zeal they possess might put many of their contemporaries to shame but to say this would be to suggest they have peers in the first place. Part of the charm of this band and all its eccentricities is that they go it alone, at odds with the whims of trends, movements or genre. Yet, despite the cult, the folklore and the definite outsider status they are genuinely very likable and hugely popular (for an indie band).

But more of tonight’s songs; moving from the sweeping epic to the punk-spirited thriller, old favourite Apologies To Insect Life was unveiled next. With lyrical undertones touching on insanity, this one gives a 3-minute glimpse of the band, Noble in particular, at their most manic. Like with most BSP offerings, there’s something indefinable lurking beneath, giving them an edge and elevating this one from ‘good song’ to greatness. Then, sandwiched between the sing-a-long science of Atom and the gorgeous sentimentality of Canvey Island came a new song- Pyrex. Predictably unpredictable, it’s upbeat and exciting and seemingly a departure from the madcap soundtrack side-project The Man of Aran.
It may also be the closest they’ve come to revisiting the flavour of The Decline of British Sea Power, which in itself promises a lot. There were more of the new songs too, such as the quite lovely Zeus and set-closer Louis and these seamlessly play alongside the true modern classics of Carrion, No Lucifer and Remember Me.

Inevitably, and through no choice of mine, the set must end and certain songs are tragically left out (Fear of Drowning, Lonely). Summising post-gig I realised this was a gig that felt important, crucial almost, and this is a band who are still exploring still growing and still genuinely changing the shape of music. Long live British Sea Power!