The gentle intro is of course just the calm before the storm as tumultuous guitars blast in on ‘Crack Another One’ from the ‘Mindhammers’ EP, coming on with a full-throated holler. Recorded durng their summer tour of Europe with System of a Down, ‘Live in Amsterdam’ is obviously one for the fans but equally provides a neat introduction to Leeds’ finest.
The between song chat is kept to a minimum, and while one one hand it may sound vaguely corny, you’ve got to hand it to them for a smart lead-in: ‘Hello Amsterdam! Are you ready for a party? Because That’s What This Is’! as they launch into the title track from their latest EP: it’s a taut, claustrophobic number, and it’s followed without a second’s pause by a meaty rendition of the blustery ‘I Hate This, Do You Like It?’ That’s the only cut from their debut album, with a large chunk of the set unsurprisingly culled from their second, breakthrough long-player ‘Ideas’.
One of the downsides of this soundboard recording is that there’s no crowd noise between songs whatsoever – fine for hearing the songs, but it does mean it lacks ‘live’ atmosphere. Playing Amsterdam’s cool, but not if you’re playing to an empty room. They probably weren’t but you’d not know from the recording. The guitars and bass in particular are a shade muddy and the vocals a shade high in the mix which doesn’t correspond with my own experience of the band live.
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But these are minor niggles: it is, after all, a live recording put out by the band on a ‘pay what you like’ basis, and what’s more, it provides a snapshot of a band in transition while demonstrating what a strong live act they are.
Hawk Eyes Online
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