London based trio Girls In Synthesis are pretty prolific with their volume of live dates. So when they announced at the tail end of 2022 that apart from a few rearranged dates, their live performances in the UK would be few and far between this year, many took this is a call to arms and have headed to Leeds for tonight’s Rifffest. Hosted at Belgrave Music Hall, they appear on a varied line-up that’s confused some attendees and allowed others the opportunity to find a raft of new bands.
They take to the stage bathed in ethereal green light and waste no time setting out their stall with ‘Watch With Mother’ taken from their latest LP The Rest is Distraction. A wall of noise emanates from the stage and anyone who wasn’t stood patiently waiting for them edges forward curiously. Not leaving said crowd any time to think, they race through into ‘Pressure’ and ‘The Engine’; two tracks taken from different GiS episodes that they use to showcase to devastating effect the versatility of their music. With such a short set time there isn’t a moment to spare, thankfully GiS are good at this game and fire out ‘Screaming’ and ‘Lacking Bite’ before pausing for breath.
‘Pulling Teeth’ has become something of a live anthem, the complex triptych of sound is not for the faint hearted and given its lengthy running time, you might question it inclusion. It more than stands its own. There is less manic energy and more careful manipulation of sound in a way that just isn’t standard in this style of music. When compared to tracks from previous releases, the difference is clear and quantifiable. As if to demonstrate this further, we are treated to a brand new track ‘Picking Things Out of the Air’ which has a presence and ultimately dominance all of its own.
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many bands ended up in a limbo with a backlog of recorded tracks that then had to go through the motions live. GiS are no different, and despite not being a ‘go through the motions’ kind of band, they have honoured their music appropriately. The new track hints at the next chapter in the GiS story, one that’s gonna be noisy, make no mistake. Until then, we have to patiently wait with their back catalogue on repeat…
