“I listen to other bands. I’d take the Pepsi Challenge with any of them.”
Damien Sayell, frontman of Bristol five-piece The St Pierre Snake Invasion, has actually never ever been shy about proclaiming the virtues of atrioventricular bundle. Playing the function of The Brian Jonestown Massacre to IDLES’ Dandy Warhols, they are a band that understands they are great certainly, however have actually never ever seen the business success that their undoubted skill is worthy of.
As they have actually developed, one gets the sense that they have actually welcomed their location in the musical pantheon, and have actually ended up being a much better and more positive band for it. The music they enjoy is loud, and speculative, and difficult, which things doesn’t typically fill arenas. If there was ever a sense of bitterness about that, however, it has actually been changed by a sense of pride in the quality of music they are making. They enjoy it, which is all that matters.
Recent 3rd album, Galore, was definitely the work of a band at its imaginative height. It showed all the components that made its predecessor Caprice Enchanté among the very best albums of 2019 – terrifying hardcore riffs, wild pace and time signature modifications, and broad singing varieties – however with the addition of electronic noise and some real authentic tender minutes.
Tonight, we see this included subtlety contributed to the Snake Invasion live program, and, a little remarkably, it is all the much better for it. Historically, their programs have actually been wild affairs, with this author having actually experienced Sayell almost being speared head-first into the flooring of the Exchange in Bristol in 2019 throughout an inexpedient ceiling walk. Even crazier, he called out his own spouse for extreme chattering throughout the band’s set at the Crofters Rights previously that year. As any family man can testify, that’s typically practically comparable to signing your own death warrant.
Fatherhood appears to have actually mellowed Sayell, however, and this evening the band emerge in matches, looking really sharp certainly. This is mirrored by the performance, which is measured but no less powerful, a perfect presentation of Galore.
They open with the brilliant ‘Kracked Velvet’, a fabulous slice of hardcore math-rock. Like ‘Carroll A. Deering’ from the previous record, it contains at least three separate sections, veering from tender melancholy to full-on juggernaut metal without missing a beat. Equally good is recent single, ‘The Overlook’, characterised by the harmonic riffs in the verses and the anguished lyrics in the chorus.
The songs from Galore really benefit from the addition of live synthesised sound, which is layered really nicely into the performance, particularly on recent single ‘That There’s Fighting Talk‘, which receives a slightly unlikely introduction as a techno song. Not sure about that, but then, not sure there’s a category that has been invented yet that fits this one.
One thing that has definitely not changed is the tightness of the performance, which is faultless. One gets the sense that these guys spend a LOT of time in the rehearsal room before a tour. Considering the complexity of some of their music, they make it look very easy indeed. Some of the guitar work on the new album is quite astonishing. Clearly a band that care very deeply about their art, and know each other very well.
The band prove that they can still go balls-out with the best of them, though, on ‘To Sleep Well’, a song that brings to mind Seattle math-rockers The Ruby Doe. Fierce and angular, with a guitar line that sounds like an alarm going off, this is among the heaviest tracks the band has done, and the crowd love it.
Probably the most impressive moment of the night, though, is the band’s song about parenthood, ‘Apex Prey’. If there is any moment that sums up the TSPSI’s new confidence on this album, then this is it. The reprise in the chorus – “You count your blessings, and I count the days” – is incredibly powerful, and watching tonight’s show next to my son, it gave me goosebumps.
Despite having seen TSPSI a number of times before, and always enjoyed it, tonight is by far the best show I have actually seen by them. They really have hit a new level on Galore, and while it probably won’t turn them into superstars, it will certainly confirm to their loyal fanbase, and themselves, that they remain among the really best at what they do.
