Music / indie
Review: Beak>, SWX – ‘Sombre but tinged with charming gruffness’
Forming in 2007, local legends Beak> are comprised of a host of figures from the cream of Bristol’s underground music scene.
On their final show for the foreseeable future, the group were sombre but tinged with charming gruffness that made their performance especially memorable.
Alongside drummer and vocalist Geoff Barrow of Portishead fame, the Sensational Space Shifter’s Billy Fuller makes up the bass section of Beak>.
The two require little introduction for spectators and participants of the local music scene, as respective contributors to the inception of trip-hop, as well as treasured local cultural institutions such as Friendly Records.
Beak> driver and technician Sean Snook took to the stage on guitar wearing a dog mask to pay tribute to Barrow’s much-loved pet Alfie who features on the cover of their latest album – photo: Benji Chapman
With Barrow’s announcement that the show would be his final in Europe, he turns next to solo projects following an extensive career soundtracking the likes of Black Mirror, Ex Machina, and most recently Alex Garland’s film Civil War.
While the more recently recruited Will Young makes up the only non-Bristol-born third of the trio as its guitarist and keyboardist, his persistent mockery onstage from Barrow – between intermittent sips from a pint of lager – for his Londoner roots made clear the band are firm in their local heritage.
Playing their new album >>>> in full he joked, upon finishing the album’s opening track, that the crowd were welcome to leave at any point and ‘phone your mum, or do your cryptocurrency and log your Strava’, while they continued to play the main body of their newest project.
Commenting on the older crowd, he quipped later ‘I know half of you are on the guest-list’, and frequently turned to the guest area to the left of the stage to tease members inside, before dubbing the gig ‘a boiled egg convention’ amid the deficit of hair on display.
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Barrow’s humour was refreshingly playful, though, and denoted a feeling of geniality between the audience and band. The mood of the evening was decidedly casual, but to say that this undermined the professional talent of the performers would be seriously misguided.
Working tirelessly through hypnotic bass arpeggios that fill The Seal, Fuller blitzed through tracks with blinding precision and speed. Sitting in the centre of SWX’s stage, his hand often diving from one side of the neck to the other in seamless transitions between clusters of interwoven melodies.
Harkening strongly on the band’s krautrock influences, Fuller’s bass guitar took a lead instrumental role on most tracks as he frequently activated various effects units at his feet that kicked basslines into blistering overdrive, which he expertly harnessed into spluttering and fuzzy riffs.
Barrow’s excellence in maintaining a firm rhythm with unique flourishes was complimented by his whispered vocal style that echoed around SWX in hushed tones.
Between breaks he also continued to share amusing anecdotes; ranging from the story of how Fuller met his wife at a disco on the top floor of Thekla, to a more serious criticism of the rapidly rising house prices in Southville.
Interjecting at this point, Fuller stated ‘I lived in Southville when it was council houses so you can fuck off’, with Barrow replying, ‘I think there are still council houses there: they just cost half a million.’
As they continued through the back end of the new album, the gig was briefly interrupted when Barrow disappeared for a trip to the toilet before continuing with the performance, prematurely dispelling the possibility of an encore in favour of their ‘greatest hits’.
As they worked through the earlier side of the band’s catalogue, another short pause took place to pay respect to Barrow’s recently deceased Irish Terrier, Alfie, who appears on the new album’s cover. Joined posthumously by ‘the Ghost of Alfie’, the band’s driver and technician Sean Snook took to the stage on guitar behind Barrow wearing a dog mask.
As the quartet reached a close, thanks were given to the audience for support over the years towards Beak>, which rang especially true as Fuller pledged to man the merch table after the show, where he joked after signing my poster that it would be worth less with his name on it.
But to me, the performance stood out as an earnest celebration of one of the greats from the local scene. Beak> are emblematic of the fact that Bristol is tireless in fields of cultural innovation, if sarcastically self-deprecating in some cases.
The band members may have been keen to downplay their talents, but I for one will not be so easily swayed.
Main image: Benji Chapman
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