Savages and Bo Ningen: Words to the Blind - Oval Space, London 19/11/14

26 November 2014, 15:30 | Written by Luke Cartledge

(Live)

(Bo Ningen) (Savages)

Among the darker, more experimental section of today’s live rock circuit, there are few acts whose sound and visuals are so cemented, so complete, so perfectly honed as Savages and Bo Ningen. The former band could, with reason, lay claim to the mantle of Britain’s finest current proponents of post-punk (and with the likes of Eagulls and Shopping peddling a similar trade at the moment, that’s saying something); the latter group, comprised of four Japanese expats based in London, are famously unhinged, highly physical performers of a particularly distinctive brand of psych-punk. Tonight, as a packed Oval Space anticipates their collaborative performance of their Words to the Blind composition, there is an atmosphere in the room quite unlike that before any other gig (if that is at all the correct word to apply to this kind of event) this writer has attended in recent months. What can possibly be expected from the joining of these two uniquely formidable forces?

Well, whatever might anyone have been expecting, it cannot have been something quite like this. After a screening of two short, surreal films, the curtain onto which they were projected is dropped to reveal the striking U-shaped stage. Once the audience has eagerly filled the space created, the two bands arrange themselves around the “U”, ending up facing each other confrontationally, like rival tribes. They then set about the business of creating one of the most faultless, immersive live music experiences of 2014.

It’s pretty difficult to articulately describe the sound of Words to the Blind. Although an utterly original piece, it's structured in the most classical way, roughly following sonata form. There is a distinct exposition, development and recapitulation, all bookended by an introduction and a coda. From an ominous, multi-lingual poetry reading, the eight musicians conjure up a bone-shaking wall of sound and then, somehow, manage to drag it through the aforementioned structure without ever losing momentum or focus. Despite its almost continual build, each moment of music feels like an important creation in its own right, independent of the place to which it might be leading. By the time we reach the astonishing climax – an unbelievably powerful resolution of the tensions that had been expertly built throughout the previous twenty or so minutes – the audience has become an open-mouthed, closed-eyed mass of amazement. It sounds hyperbolic, but observing the total immersion, in some incredible music, of the majority of the Oval Space crowd is genuinely affecting.

Words to the Blind is an ambitious work, but over its 37-minute length it fulfils this ambition and more. In lesser hands, this kind of experiment could very easily turn into an obtuse, self-indulgent mess of noise, ego and art-school elitism. But with Savages and Bo Ningen at the helm, it’s just not; instead, it’s one of the most important, perfectly executed musical events of the year.