By Jase Walker
The Netherlands certainly does seem to do what I would consider more unusual show setups and today is one of them. Briqueville, another band on Pelagic Records’ roster, is the opening act for an all-day event at Paradiso and certainly seems to be a bit at odds with the other acts on today but in this instance, I am here solely for Briqueville. Probably just as well because I am fucking shattered!
Anyway, this is probably going to be a shorter write-up I suppose given that they’re on first in the upper hall and the next band is on about an hour after Briqueville’s start time, but I’m still super keen on getting a bit more of them in my ears!
Considering this is the opening show for today as well, there’s a pretty big turnout for them in the bovenzaal in Paradiso, a mixture of black T-shirt sporting types that are clearly fans and others less so.
Dressed in cloaks, cowls and masks, Briqueville take the stage while a booming guitar melody plays over the speakers to signal their introduction. The band takes over with a wall of cacophonous noise before kicking into things properly and the low frequencies from the bass drum and guitar feel like they’re trying to dictate my heartbeat!
This mix they’ve got for this show is absolutely unreal, it’s powerful, clear and completely filling up this room. Hypnotic melodies and lumbering pace really lean into the doom side of their music but not forgetting the beautiful layering that comes with post-rock. For the first time in a long time, I’m astounded by how strong the bass drum is without it taking anything away from the rest of the music, you may not hear it fully but you absolutely feel it every single time it hits.
The heavier moments of this set are so overwhelming that I can literally feel my hair shaking, this is terrifyingly thick and I absolutely love it. The sheer intensity of this show is something I genuinely wish I hadn’t missed at Pelagic Fest earlier this year but I feel like this is definitely making up for it. I genuinely cannot get my head around how much this show is blowing me away.
I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for more or less everything on Pelagic Records and Briqueville are proving exactly why; the bands on this label have a huge variety and spread of styles but they are unified on atmospheric and intense live shows. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band that’s used one of those wooden block things in a live show either, that’s definitely a first!
Honestly I can’t do much here except stand and stare in utter amazement of this show, and whatever hangover I had from yesterday has evaporated completely as I’ve surrendered myself to this bonkers show.
But sadly, as this is an opening show, Briqueville’s set just scratches about 35 minutes. For what essentially is a taste of them, it’s left me hungering for much more and hopefully next year I’ll be able to get a headline length set from them. What an unbelievable set though, truly phenomenal.
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