PRESS - LIVE REVIEWS

Earth Loop Recall were one of those coulda-bin-contenders bands which never stuck around long enough to turn their potential into real success. Go back a couple of years and it all seemed like it was going to happen for them: a string of intense, roiling, live shows and an album that came at the listener like special forces. And then, a split, and silence. But now the band has returned with a revised line-up, and they're ready to have another go. I'm happy to report that the Earth Loop Recall have lost none of their steaming intensity, none of their almost psychedelic force. That's not psychedelic as in 'Look at all the pretty colours', by the way. It's psychedelic as in 'I think my head's fucked up'. Earth Loop Recall generate an almost uncanny density of sound - it's like being given a glimpse inside a black hole, only to find a bunch of weird elemental creatures having a party. Old songs hold their own with new songs tonight - the band are giving a few old tunes a final run-out before a comprehensively reworked live set takes over at future gigs. 'Optimism Creeping In' is the one that kicks the mosh off. All of a sudden, the floor is full of tumbling and barging bodies, and whle most of the enthusiastic moshers are old friends of the band who recall Earth Loop Recall's original incarnation, it's interesting to note a couple of random indie girls, who knew nothing of the band before they started playing (they asked me who they were!), getting caught up in the rush and push of the affray. Fired up and impressed, they're instant converts to the ELR cause. And that, as it happens, illustrates a significant point. First time round, Earth Loop Recall spent a lot of time playing goth scene gigs - don't ask me why, since the band were not, and are not, goths. Notwithstanding a certain amount of appreciation from the more adventurous gothy types, their real audience was always elsewhere. This time round, I hope Earth Loop Recall can see the way forward, because that's the way they deserve to go.

A few years ago we were among the people getting rather excited by a fresh-faced band called Earth Loop Recall who seemed to sling around fragile indie melodies, blistering punk attitude and electronic dub with equal panache. And then as next big things often do, they decided to promptly split up. So here we are at Madame JoJos regular night of burlesque electroindie tomfoolery Thee Glitz with a sense of some excitement at witnessing the retooled ELRs first London date for two and a half years. Two things are apparent once the retooled ELR take the stage. One, theyve gone all "proper" band replacing the bulk of the technology with yer actual bass and drums. A brief temptation to shout out "wheres yer fkin midi?" is overcome. Secondly, they picked up a fiercely loyal fanbase first time round with a respectable turnout tonight and a palpable sense of excitement. Tonight we get Please Stop Hurting Me, Petra Lena, Let Yourself and Optimism Creeping In from The Compulsion album plus new single The Bitter Begin and a retooled oldie Glass. The Smashing Pumpkins produced by Adrian Sherwood vibe of the album gets layered over with soaring angular rock in the new incarnation and its a very fine thing indeed. ELRs skill lies not so much in their ability to articulate a sense of pain and loss but in their ability to articulate the bloody struggle to claw oneself back from such feelings and tonight there is indeed, as the man said, a very real sense of "Optimism Creeping In." An honest to goodness moshpit breaks out in the middle of said track, people slamming wildly against each other with big stupid grins on their faces. When was the last time you saw that at an electro club? Earth Loop Recall are once again one of the best bands you havent yet heard of. You should do something about that.

Earth Loop Recall were headlining tonight, a well-deserved slot following on from their incredible February show and the release of the best 'debut' album by any band for as far back as I can remember. Tonight was where the razor-sharp 'raw' side of ELR was exposed, a band who seem keener that most to 'do it their way', launching straight into two thrashy industrial metal tracks ('Reconnect' included) before the audience even had a chance to get warmed up.
It soon became clear that no-one had bothered to write a set-list, the quartet winging it with a refreshing sense of individuality - 'Let Yourself' was dedicated to the recently-deceased Ronald Reagan, a move of dubious taste, and hence highly appropriate for an event of this nature. They eventually decided to call for requests from the crowd, and I was more than happy that they took me up on my suggestion of 'Like Machines', eight glorious minutes of alternating moods and intensity, and a song that I personally just can't seem to listen to enough times. They finished the main part of their set with 'Please Stop Hurting Me', triggering a seething mosh pit, something almost unheard of in the 'goth' scene these days, but then again re-writing the rule book seems to be ELR's trademark. An encore was called for and got, with 'Petra Lena' giving everyone who wanted to a second chance to thrash about in front of the stage.

Earth Loop Recall are on a roll at the moment. Their album, Compulsion, has picked up good reviews everywhere from indie zines to metal mags, and their gigs always generate a stir. Theres a feeling in the air that this is a band teetering on the brink of...well, I wont make any grand predictions and say superstardom, but certainly theres a sense that to watch ELR in action is to witness something special unfolding before our very eyes. They fire up Optimism Creeping In, and their sound roars and swirls around the venue like a jet plane running up its engines for take-off. Its such a big, big sound you can almost feel the walls bulging under sheer sonic pressure - and yet its not just a formless noise. ELRs secret weapon is their ability to create detail and space in amongst the guitar-fuelled roar. There are distinct keyboard lines and odd little rhythms winding their way around the densely-packed decibels; bespoke features of the bands musical landscape which you can pick up on and marvel at, even as the sheer power of the sound is pinning you to the back wall of the venue. Ben hunches over the mic like Johnny Rottens better-dressed brother and rips out the lyrics like his souls being roasted over a low flame, while the band lurch and sway and riff around him. But its not at all an angst-by-numbers show. On the contrary, there are grins and quips between (and occasionally during) the songs. ELR know how to mix their vitriol with fun. There are shout-outs to friends and aquaintances - Reconnect is dedicated to Mick Mercer, who, alas, is unable to be with us tonight. Come to think of it, Mick has been unable to be with us for about the last eight years. But no matter: for those of us who still connect, this feels good. This feels like something new is happening. Something new is oozing up from the murky swamps of the underground, and ELR are the foremost tentacle of the monster.