By DJ Astrocreep
Lockdowns and the effects of the global pandemic have forced artists to look upon creative output in ways maybe differently than they had either previously planned. I first encountered Alex Henry Foster in a live setting, taking to a much smaller stage than the one afforded him in this live production, in a support slot and, while I often can find myself ambivalent about live albums, it was the medium I am actually more knowledgable of him in. Bearing this in mind, I decided that watching the video of the performance where he is the master of the stage and has the ability to shape it to his own performance and such was the least respect he deserved.
Alex’s music is not the easiest to listen to. They are so many layers and nuances that even several listens in I find myself still finding things I hadn’t previously noticed, which is not something I am used to encountering in a live setting and actually makes me glad I can rewatch the performance many times over. The initial visual impact is one of the set looking very minimalistic. Alex takes centre stage, each of the band gets their own spot and it’s otherwise empty, leaving you nothing initially to be visually distracted by. The music starts, the lights flare up and it’s quickly obvious quite why everything is set as so.
The setlist comprises of his debut solo studio release, ‘Windows In The Sky’, though it begins with a previously unreleased track in ‘The Son Of Hannah’ before going into the album in full release order, with the 10 songs comprising an almost 2 hours length set, It has to be said, though, that not only do I not even realise how much time has gone by, the first listen through finishes and I am startled by it ending, such is my level of entrancement in the entire setting.
While the backdrop is layers of what resembles giant shredded paper, it actually makes for an excellent backdrop to a light show that I could describe as both absorbing and entrancing without even being close to doing it sufficient justice. Everything is worked in perfectly, with the lights mimicking the soft/loud approach of the music, adding further depth to the beauty of what at times hits almost cacophonous levels. Without ever losing that identity of captivation, there’s a thread that keeps you dangling in the music and the sheer atmosphere that immerses you, not just in what your sight and hearing can take it, but so you actually feel it in your skin, to the point that I cannot help but envy anyone who was able to be there in person.
While I understand this is both an audio and video release, I have focused on the live show footage for a particular reason – the sheer overwhelming beauty of the music is one that could be so easily enjoyed with the audio alone and it is more than worth any cost for doing so, but the setting is perfect for the illusion and world Alex creates for us all throughout the performance. The passion, the sheer force of feeling from just the audio is riveting in its own right, yet as he almost conducts the band along with his entire body as he cannot hold himself back, lending even further credence to my earlier thoughts of it being a shared world, there is just something otherworldly about the amalgamation of visual and audio that takes what is an outstanding live album – one I would rank easily among the best I have ever heard, which despite my general misgivings, is still quite a number – and levers it firmly into something that can truly only be described as an experience.
Even allowing for the complexities described, there is something about it that I feel would appeal to a lot more audiences than the post-rock or avant-garde jazz tags I have seen him described as. I feel a sense of some of the more subtle end of the likes of Hawkwind or of Tool, the kind of spellbinding performance that elevates someone from being a talented artist – which I was already aware of – into an entirely different stratosphere. There are definitely some easier-to-approach elements, yet listening to these more than once heralds even further things in the background, hidden depths you don’t even realise are there until you actively try to tune out the foreground.
I could wax lyrical about this a good while longer, but it comes down to one simple fact, that this is a release of such absolute quality, such exquisite poise even when the rising crescendo threatens to not just drag you along with it, but to envelop you, you will find yourself no less transfixed. It is an absolute statement piece that, if there is any justice, will place Alex Foster Henry into a place where he will be rightfully regarded amongst the creme of emerging talent on the world stage, alongside the likes of Leprous in the manner that delicate beauty is merged with such power and noise without even beginning to lose its integrity.
- ‘Standing Under Bright Lights’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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