Tremorous

Daniel Avery played New Century Hall on Friday night, Halloween, the same day as his new album Tremor was released. Tremor is a bit of a departure from the ambient/ acid/ techno he's known for and which has been present on some of my favourite albums from recent years- 2018's Song For Alpha, 2020's Love + Light and Illusion Of Time, 2021's Together In Static and 2022's Ultra Truth. That's quite the run of albums. Tremor brings a huge new sound, guitars and early 90s industrial rock and guests including Alison Mosshart from The Kills. His set on Friday night starts with the Tremor sound a d a full band, Daniel centre stage behind a rack of kit, guitarists and bassist to the left and a very loud drummer stage right. 

The first part of the set is songs from Tremor, Greasy Off The Starting Line (the Alison Mosshart song) among them, the vocals played from recordings. It's a huge sound, the band have mastered the tensions and dynamics, Daniel playing ominous synth sounds and then the three musicians suddenly crashing in as one, producing an enormous, pile driving sound, the intensity and power of Nine Inch Nails but without the frontman. It's a maximalist minimalism, just four people making a massive noise. It's impressive if a little alienating, the spotlights shining bright white beams of light into the blackness.

After a clutch of songs from Tremor the band disappear and Daniel switches things completely and it becomes more like a DJ gig, swerving into the areas he's best known for, peaky acid techno, 808s and synths, the backlit stage suddenly a club and the crowd moving. He cherry picks moments from his albums, short blasts of acid, occasional dropouts to ambient synth interludes and then crunching electronic drums hitting back in. 

The third part of the gig sees the band come back onstage and a warmer full band sound- there's a lovely ambient piece and then the 80s alt- pop of Rapture In Blue, the most accessible song on Tremor with Cecile Believe's vocals (again from tape) filling the room.

The stage lights are red now and it's fully gig territory and a short run of songs take us to the finale, Drone Logic from 2013's album of the same name, his debut and the one that for some of us was a re- entry point back into techno. Played live Drone Logic's acid squiggle bassline is a living, breathing thing, a monster (on Halloween appropriately enough) and the synths and 808 bounce around the wooden paneled modernist hall. 

Drone Logic