The Telescopes

Doncaster on a cold Thursday night in October is about as appealing as scraping one's nails down a blackboard or drinking lukewarm tea that's been allowed to stew for the past three hours. However, this evening's line-up sees the past and present of psychedelic shoegaze collide to spectacular effect.

In one corner, Stephen Lawrie of former Creation stalwarts The Telescopes and ex-Spacemen 3 member Sterling Roswell (aka Rosco) gracefully roll back the years. In the other, Copenhagen noiseniks Black Light White Light and local heroes 93MillionMilesFromTheSun take the blueprint laid by the aforementioned to create an otherworldly noise of their own. Tonight isn't one for the fainthearted. Or for those expecting a quiet night in either.

Taking their cue as much from classic rock and roll of the 1960s as the classic Creation or 4AD sound, openers Black Light White Light have an inherent likeability about them. Sure, it's not entirely unique. They have songs called 'Higher Than Low' and 'Glorious Bastards', fuse an array of pedal-administered sonic effects with catchy, simplistic melodies and seem like the kind of people who'd find being tagged as "retro" somewhat complimentary. They also drop in a heavy rendition of The Beatles 'Tomorrow Never Knows' that sounds surprisingly fresh and invigorating. Undoubtedly promising, if at times a little too backwards looking.

Next up is Sterling "Rosco" Roswell, looking more like an upper class country gent than shoegaze icon. Dressed in a smart shirt and sweater topped off with tweed deerstalker cap, he plays a variation of the delta blues that draws comparison with a rabid Daniel Johnston. It's certainly a million miles away from his stint in Spacemen 3 twenty-five years ago, but not exactly surprising to anyone that's followed his musical dalliances since either. William Blake's 'An Island In The Moon' is quoted at one point, while another song is introduced as a tribute to his favourite poet, Federico Garcia Lorca. At the end he's joined onstage by members of Black Light White Light - not the first time they'll make a reappearance this evening - for a sizzling cover of The Godz 'Radar Eyes'.

Playing what is essentially the first night of their tour in support of third long player Towards The Light, Doncaster's 93MillionMilesFromTheSun overcome early technical problems, conjuring up a breathtaking set that showcases their wares to resounding effect. Now just a two-piece centered around the core duo of Nick Noble and Rob Hogg, their blistering sonic assault packs a punch sadly lacking in many other bands of a similar genre at present, the obvious exceptions being A Place To Bury Strangers and The Lost Rivers. Combining the best bits of all three records, the suave, sophisticated ambience of 'Waiting There' succinctly melting into 'I Lost You''s motorik beat before 'Take Me Away' rips a sun shaped hole in the Leopard's ornate ceiling. Another new song 'Take Your Time' - prefixed as '...(Skyfall)' but bearing nothing in common with the Bond film or Adele warble of the same name drifts nonchalantly into the cataclysmic 'Darkestar' and epic set closer 'Sonic Assault', which pretty much explains 93MMFTS's ethos to a tee. In short, they're a revelation, and far more deserving of the paltry turnout that greets them here.

It's fair to say the past few years have been something of a rollercoaster ride for Stephen Lawrie. Having revamped The Telescopes a decade ago after a ten-year hiatus for the heavily experimental Third Wave, he's spent the ensuing years toying with numerous styles and sounds ever since. Not to mention a plethora of collaborators and line-up changes. Indeed, the only constant with the 21st Century model of the band is Lawrie himself, and tonight he's backed by the whole of Black Light White Light and 93MillionMilesFromTheSun's Nick Noble on guitar. Although the majority of recent releases bearing The Telescopes name have been avant garde noise pieces, his decision to tour classic debut Taste in 2010 proved a masterstroke. While never one for looking over his shoulder, Lawrie has openly stated his disapproval at bands obviously reforming for the money and little else several times. There's a ready-made audience out there that never got the opportunity to hear many of those songs in the flesh first time round, and if it's good enough for any number of his peers, why not him?

Tonight's set is rendered even more special by focusing heavily on The Telescopes untitled second album, released by Creation in 1992. Despite receiving mixed reviews at the time, it's gone on to be heralded as one of the most seminal collections of its time, while inspiring a legion of bands worldwide in its wake. Unfortunately, time constraints force the set to be shortened by a couple of songs. However that doesn't stop opener 'High On Fire' metamorphosing into a sprawling Can-like opus. Prior to his set, Lawrie tells us he was recently blown away by Leeds' Hookworms live show, and the similarities between the old and new (or should that be Neu!?) are endless. 'Flying', the band's biggest single and 'Perfect Needle', the only reference to Taste material in tonight's set are received like long lost friends arriving at a social gathering. Even a false start on 'Precious Little' doesn't dampen proceedings, while album #2 highlight 'Ocean Drive' finds itself elongated into a mesmerising ten minutes-plus opus.

With a new album expected to be ready sometime in the new year and a tour of Brazil in the offing beforehand, it's clear to see Stephen Lawrie and The Telescopes are far from being a spent force just yet.