Music / Reviews
Review: the Cement Garden, Exchange – ‘If you build it, they will come’
The headlining band tonight is the Cement Garden and they are also the promoters for the event.
They’ve taken the opportunity to give a spotlight to two almost brand-new local bands at the slightly insalubrious but much loved community owned venue, the Exchange.
Public Burning take the stage first at 19.30 sharp, although it seems the singer didn’t get the memo about the early start. He bustles on soon after, flustered, admitting to nerves.
It’s a good turn out for a first band, especially so early in the evening. And they deserve it. They’ve only been playing gigs in this guise since September, but they are in lockstep with each other and are perhaps the most exciting band of the night.
Their sound is sparse and dramatic. Jagged riffs rumble beneath the anguished vocals which careen around like a troubled drunk, a reluctant prophet driven mad by visions of the future.
Angular distortions of body and melody add to the sense of unease, embodying the content of their songs perfectly.
“This next one is about how the future isn’t what it used to be”, the singer quips ahead of some crunchy, slow apocalyptic chords, followed by a sudden change of tempo to a frantic beat. It’s like rising panic, with intervals of deliberate slow breathing, only for the panic to break through again.
The set as a whole is like witnessing an existential crisis play out live on stage. It’s exquisite, excruciating, but also somehow comforting. Perfect music for the times we are living through.
The second band Tungsten arrive on stage, black-clad and hirsute. They thrash their way through some belters before addressing the crowd to let us know that the singer tonight is a stand-in.
The guitarist outs him as being terrified, but there’s no outward sign of nerves. He seems to know the material, his timing is excellent, negotiating complex rhythms expertly, and he delivers it all with no inconsiderable amount of style.
He is charmingly tuneless at times, but that adds to the diamond in the rough appeal. The only hint that he is not a founding member of the band is his short hair, in contrast to the flowing tresses of the other three band members.
The set is heavy and fun, although the speed shredding feels relentless after a while. Their slower songs are a welcome shift, allowing the intricate guitar lines to shine through and highlighting the affinity between guitar and bass.
The knowledge that this was the singer’s first ever gig lends an edge, a sense of jeopardy, and we breathe a sigh of collective relief on his behalf at the end. He smashed it.
The final band of the evening, and the outfit responsible for pulling the event together, is the Cement Garden. They have a big and busy sound, and while there’s perhaps not a lot of subtlety, it’s stomping good fun and full of heart.
They are evidently delighted at the turn out tonight and rightly so – it has been a lively evening and each band has had a sizeable, receptive crowd.
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Two songs before the end, the singer jumps down into the crowd and gets everyone to crouch down around him. He starts a chant of “We stop, and stare”, starting quietly and building to a riotous crescendo as he jumps back on stage out of the way of the ensuing mosh pit.
Energy is high now as they finish with crowd favourite Pigeon, before basking in the glow of a job well done.
This was a great grassroots gig if ever there was one, the kind that keeps a music scene alive and thriving. It’s heartening to see a band use their platform and following to support newer bands, and brilliant to see a such decent crowd.
As the Cement Garden declared in the first song of their set, “If you build it, they will come”.
All images: Lucy Langley-Palmer
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