Nite Fields start a little late, which conveniently allows me to catch their whole set. Their brand of warm shoegaze is perfectly suited tonight, meshing well with the headliners without covering the same territory. Starting things late seems to have worked well for them, with the room already half full at this point and the audience fairly attentive. It’s not the best set I’ve seen from the band, lacking some of the spark of previous gigs, but their music easily carries them through.

Secret Birds are having equipment issues, unable to get their bank of effects pedals to synch properly and when it hits 10:15 and they still haven’t started, I start getting worried, given the midnight licence here. Fortunately the crowd seems fairly laid back about the whole thing and takes the hour delay in their stride. Eventually the band does get things working, but it’s going to be a necessarily abbreviated set, and even then I’m not sure how everything else is going to fit.

It’s a real shame that there were problems, because Secret Birds are really enjoyable tonight. Sporting an almost entirely different line-up and a markedly different sound to their support spot for Mono a couple of months ago, tonight they play a much more downbeat and washed-out version of the pysch-rock that the band is known for. With their drummer on vocal duties for the first track, it’s all ambient swirls and reverb-laden chords. Even when the drums emerge on later tracks, they aren’t dominant, and there’s a warmth to proceedings that maintains the relaxed ambience of the night.

Lakes play angular kraut-rock, a significantly more muscular sound than the other bands on the bill. There’s still a distance to the music, seemingly the consistent theme of the evening, but it’s much sharper guitar chords and rhythms rather than the washed-out drones of the openers. No one is going to win any performance awards tonight, every band has found their instruments and shoes distinctly fascinating, but without the projected visuals of Secret Birds and Nite Fields, it’s more noticeable with Lakes. They aren’t meshing with my mood, but Lakes are playing a solid set, receiving a positive response from the very busy room and it’s again a shame when they have to cut things short, due to time constraints.

A fairly quick set-up sees HTRK kicking off at around 11:45, and I’m looking at my watch nervously, but the slow throbbing beat of the opener distracts me from other concerns and as Jonnine Standish’s voice starts to interweave with the slinky melody, my worries melt away.

HTRK have an incredibly consistent style to their music, so much so that it threatens at times to make the show boring. They manage to skirt around the edge of repetition though and instead envelop the listener in their sound; all aloof sensuality and slow melancholy, like the sound of an inevitable come down.

The live versions don’t deviate too strongly from the recorded tracks, but there are enough differences to keep the songs interesting and original. Standish’s voice is stronger and louder in the mix, bringing it into closer focus, and it stands up well under the scrutiny. The heavier drums suit the songs as well and add a nice repressed aggression to proceedings. Eat Yr Heart positively bristles with threat, while Skinny and Synthetik seem to ache with longing.

Fortunately management have been nice. While they shut the bar down at midnight, they’ve let the gig run through until half-past, which means we get a complete (or almost) show from HTRK. It’s the final night on their tour, and it shows; both members look exhausted at times. There’s not much stage presence or crowd interaction to speak of, Yang focuses on his instruments and Standish gazes off into the distance. I can’t imagine many punters would have come along expecting a stage show though, and despite the logistical problems, HTRK do a wonderful job of providing a clear and precise interpretation of their songs that will have more than satisfied those who enjoy their recorded works and hopefully won them a few new fans as well.

- Words and photos by Sky Kirkham