LIVE REVIEW: Perturbator @ SWX, Bristol
In the dark times of 2020, Bristol venue SWX was deliberately set alight by a conspiracist in protest of the possibility of COVID passports being introduced for live events. They were jailed, but it left the premises in jeopardy; would it be resurrected into the force it was before the torching? The new facelift seemed promising, but it would be for nought if the bands didn’t sound good – and who better than to put the sound system through its paces than the synth-heavy double attack of PERTURBATOR and HEALTH?
It’s a shame one-man industrial act AUTHOR AND PUNISHER isn’t supporting on the UK tour as he had been in Europe, because that would have made for an even more killer night, but HEALTH are on hand to make for an explosive start anyway. The industrial/noise rock band from Los Angeles are in support of a fair amount – they’ve released both parts of their Disco4 project since last being here in 2019 – although it’s the album from that year, Vol 4: Slaves Of Fear which gets the biggest outing and the likes of GOD BOTHERER and PSYCHONAUT gets bodies swaying aplenty; this is not the music for all-out moshing to show appreciation, this is a show to be captivated and entranced.
HEALTH are experts at this, especially drummer BJ Miller who has some serious chops and stands out across their set. The only criticism is that the second microphone is either broken or seriously low in the mix, for there’s nothing coming from the speakers in terms of John Famiglietti‘s voice, but this aside there’s so much love for the band that they’re an excellent sight all the same; Die Slow from 2009’s Get Color is applauded throughout and tonight’s headliner even steps on for EXCESS, the song he collaborated on with the band originally; a strong end to a strong set.
Rating: 8/10
It takes barely a minute of PERTURBATOR beginning his set with Reaching Xanadu for those inside to get their groove on once more. The man more commonly known as James Kent has, unwittingly, become the poster child for the synthwave movement in the last few years and this packed venue is testament to that. Things warm up through his own song Excess and Lustful Sacraments, but the beautiful segue into Neo Tokyo, the opening track from 2016’s The Uncanny Valley, sees everything kick up a notch in explosive fashion. Without intention, the light show bounces off the disco balls suspended on the ceiling to create an even more impressive dynamic.
Diabolus Ex Machina, replete with an outro from Weapons for Children, is exquisite, and the doom element underpinning Dethroned Under A Funeral Haze is a lovely addition to a sound that already has so much going on. Even though the set is a full 14 songs, it only just goes over an hour and ten minutes which is a bit of a shame, but as HEALTH return the favour and come on stage for an encore performance of BODY/PRISON, two facts are prominent – one, synthwave is no longer an underground movement, it’s bigger than ever and rightfully pushing itself into the spotlight and two, Ibiza needs a metal club, pronto.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Bristol from Cariad Myer Photography here:
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