Live Review

Senser – Islington Academy

• 21st Jun 2010

Senser’s new album “How To Do Battle” seems to have had a decent reception since its release last year. The band had sporadically been playing gigs both home and abroad – and even enjoyed a bit of “Download 2010” time this year.

They returned to London this weekend to do a show at the Islington Academy – and there was a sense of dismay at first when this reviewer discovered that the gig wasn’t even in the main venue of the Islington Academy – (This seemed to be reserved for a club night) – instead the band were to be crammed on to an even smaller stage in the upstairs venue.

The main Islington Academy itself could not even be described as a mid-size venue. It’s a small venue – to playing a show in an even smaller room a fraction the size of its older brother is quite a worry. Senser are not a nice quiet acoustical band? Their material is quite politically aggressive and very loud.

So the crowd in the know must have prepared themselves for a show that wasn’t by any standard going to sound all that great. And it is in the hands of the sound technicians where the band put their trust.

The good news is that the band spare no expense in the effort they put into the show. The bad is predictably the place doesn’t sound the best and has a few glitches that need to be worked on. But it doesn’t stop the crowd enjoying the tracks as they come thick and fast. They open with How To Do Battle single “Resistance Now.” And they coast through a lot of the back catalogue of Stacked up’s “State’s of Mind,” “Switch” and later on “Age Of Panic” and “Eject.”

Any space and movement on stage is reserved for the two vocalists – despite the impression the music makes, it’s up to these two to burn the energy onstage and get the crowd going – And it’s a fairly game crowd for the majority of the gig.
After flying through one of the new albums best songs “2 3 Clear” they finish the set with “Age of Panic” but do return for a couple more tracks.

I left satisfied that the band put in the effort to impress – but feel probably as short changed as they have been at the same time with having to put up with such a tiny venue. I think I made this argument last year when Senser played Dingwalls which was a great sounding and very intimately responsive show. Senser are in need of a bigger stage in order for their music to be done great justice, at least they got to hit Download this year.