Escalade

Pre-show, a public house close to the scene of something wonderful unfolding precisely three hours from now:

“I told him, there’s some Battles in there, really… It’s post-rock, but not… what do you think?”

A nod, a sip, a glance at the time, a dash – equipment is still littered about the Notting Hill Arts Club, silent, unmoved by my hurried arrival. Early loiterers take in a pair of supports, but I’m saving my focus for Vessels. Leeds has produced a slew of greats, and not so, over the years, but this collective ‘do’ epic in a way few have managed previously: engaging, familiar, yet alluringly new.

Rocket science it isn’t, obviously: even Battles – who Vessels are stealing a few tricks from for their forthcoming debut album, recorded in the middle of some spooky woods stateside at the tail end of last year – had points of reference identifiable in their senses-spinning cocktails. But even though sections of the assembled many – a sizeable throng and no mistake for such an event, especially good considering so many New Years resolutions to quit the sauce, however temporarily – can be heard mumbling the names of (semi) instrumental acts of note, Vessels’ remarkable noise drowns out sceptical suggestions of imitation. There _is_ an originality at work, even if it’s more associated with the compiling than the constituent pieces.

As seven-inch single ‘Yuki’ drifts from percussive bombast to eerie afterglow silence, the hush transforms into rabid appreciation, palm on palm ‘til palms are sore and cooling Hite needs purchasing purely for pain relief. Clearly ‘re-learning’ their studio-concocted arrangements for live exhibition – very much a la a certain NYC outfit, again – Vessels’ 2008 seems set to be one of evolution to a zenith point; coincidence with the debut’s release would be beneficial, but watching their shows become word-of-mouth events of local-scene legend is going to be a wondrous adventure.

Post-show, that tingle that tells you not only that something magical has happened, but that the very same feeling will return time and again over the course of the coming twelve.