By Jase Walker
It would seem that I’m currently on an all-you-can-eat binge of post-rock these past couple of years and I am not slowing down now as it’s time to catch God Is An Astronaut again at a headline show in the beautiful city of Haarlem. Not just that but virtuoso cellist,Jo Quail, whom I got to see absolutely kill it with The Ocean and This Will Destroy You in the same venue and stage just over a year ago is backing them up!
I had the fortune to run into the GIAA lads in the pub prior to the show and they gave me a little teaser that Jo Quail is also involved in their live performance too which just makes me all the more excited to see what’s in store for tonight! Also thanks to the guys for being kind enough to entertain my verbal diarrhea.
The silent approach of Jo Quail, no introduction, just a booming thud across the PA as she begins laying down the rhythmic elements for her opening. The crowd themselves are completely silent as she adds in layering of drones and adding them to the next round of loops, weaving an intricate web of elements as if creating a tapestry.
The initial opening part of the set feels as if it could be music from the likes of ‘Vikings’ or ‘Black Sails’: the sort of dark, tribal feel that would punctuate the precursor montage leading up to a decisive battle with a Pyrrhic victory. For this sort of performance it’s baffling to me how Jo manages to keep track of this amount of complex layering and looping, it can’t be easy making sure that whatever goes into the loop is exactly what’s needed, without discord or scuffed notes.
Her hands dance around the neck of the cello, plucking strings, slapping the neck for percussive effects, subtle note bends and slides as she uses the bow. She’s a wonderful musical artist to listen to but also seemingly demonstrates a masterclass in the versatility of the Cello to work as a bass, melody, and percussion instrument. I’m quite impressed with how silent the crowd is as I’ve seen far too many shows like this be ruined by people talking loudly and being oblivious to people around them but tonight everyone is entranced by Jo Quail. A set that was as incredible as it was the first time and a welcome return, Jo Quail truly is an enigma.
There’s no pre-show music for GIAA: a simple ambient tone plays with the stage highlighted with subtle lighting prior to the band taking the stage. They kick things off in true post-rock style with a more subtle and sombre style with the band looking like animated silhouettes thanks to the lighting flooding them from the back of the stage.
This is exactly what I find so fascinating about this particular pocket of rock and metal music, it’s so often less about the band and projecting to the audience and more about the audio and visual spectacle that comes with it. GIAA sound absolutely incredible, a real perfect balance of sound where the bass is punchy and thick but not saturated, the guitars drenched in reverb soar above everything while the drums hold their own with busy playing to keep it all going.
A sombre moment to talk about the reasoning behind ‘Embers’ and how it works as a tribute to the father of the guitarist and bass player who spent time doing merch for the band and passed away in November 2023. He talked for a moment about how they returned from a tour in China very tired but sadly his father never came back from that and passed away, clearly holding back a flood of emotions talking about such a heartbreaking moment in his life.
Throughout the set I’m constantly amazed not only by the fantastic sound but the beautiful and magnificent light show of the performance, sharply contrasting colours of Blue against Orange or Green against Magenta, with varying degrees of movement to suit the music at the time. This sort of meeting of audio and visual elements makes a show like this a special experience because you take away so much more of a show.
As promised, Jo Quail finally joins the fray to play along with the GIAA guys to help drive home a lot of the ‘Ember’ content. And what an addition to the show she is, the extra layering immediately adds a new dimension to the live sound and adds this blanket of noise that thickens things out. Thanks to her versatility of sound, Jo is able to augment both the low end and the melodic elements of GIAA’s set.
The intensity of the show grows ever greater as we steadily move toward the end of the set. This sort of setup proves to me that “non-traditional” rock and metal instruments have a place within these sorts of styles; stringed instruments such as cello, violin, as well as saxophone, they are being used to great effect over the past few years.
Overall this is exactly what I want from a show like this, it’s seldom about the band getting all up in your face and projecting at you and more about the overall experience of a beautiful production and incredible sound. God Is An Astronaut continues to show themselves as another pillar of incredible post-rock, alongside the likes of Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, And So I Watch You From Afar, and many others that I cannot summon to kind right now.
Beautiful and immense, worth every second of watching.
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