MUSIC

The Cube, Bristol (Sat 26 Nov)

Watching Bleeding Heart Narrative at The Cube, it's tempting to focus on the adjective 'cinematic' to describe the London sextet's richly layered, wide-angled sweep. Indeed, they bear all the hallmarks of silver-screen evoking post-rockisms a la Sigur Ros. But they're far from being, as main man Oliver Barret satirically put it, "very intense men playing a repeated chord pattern and stepping on distortion pedals one at a time over the course of 10 minutes". Textures and grandeur are their stock in trade, sure. But Barrett and co direct proceedings with a dynamic and intricately rhythmic hand, too. All set, comically and with wowing synchronicity, against a backdrop of Vincent Price's 'The Pit and the Pendulum' – drum crashes synchronise with on-screen lightning flashes and upwardly exploding sea waves.

The six-piece – who exchange drums, bass, guitars, synth, cello and violin – are touring their latest EP, 'Bison' – a thing of natural beauty, an elemental rock record where effervescent drone textures bring optimistic pop hooks into sharp relief. There's a journeying, travelogue quality to it, like Beirut's gap-year-inspired chamber pop, except it's ramped up with hard-rock drum figures instead. 'Mysterious Cults' reaches to the sky with choral-like harmonies and cannoning drums. It dissolves into 'Shoals,' which, admittedly, sounds more enspiriting on record, but nevertheless shimmers with fanning drone and wistful vocals.

Unashamedly, rock as a spectacle. And all the better for it. (Jamie Skey)

Copyright Jamie Skey 2011