Gig Review: Mount Eerie @ London Scala, Tue 6th April

I came to this gig with absolutely no idea what to expect; both Phil Elverum's recordings and his performances can range from being very spare and haunting, to a blitzkrieg of noise. His most recent entry under the Mount Eerie moniker, last year's outstanding Wind's Poem, frequently veered towards the latter, and so Tuesday's night's performance, which included a full band, was a suitably loud affair, but even during its heaviest moments maintained a level of intimacy so pivotal to his recordings.

Opening support act Team Brick, aka Bristolian Matt Williams was fascinating; using a mix of effects pedals, a couple of mics. a few instruments and the art of throat singing, he cooked up a varied set which stayed on the right side of experimental. That was followed by No Kids, a twee-looking bunch who eschewed guitars in favour of keyboards. Their bitter-sweet pop had plenty of groove, but the set was too long, and they couldn't sustain interest for the duration.

However, it was a welcome sight to see many of them walk on stage again, this time as part of Mount Eerie. After a few awkward but genial words from Elverum, the set was opened with a gut-wrenching burst of noise as the band commenced Wind's Dark Poem. They proceeded to play Wind's Poem in its entirety, but this was no mere run-through, as every song built, and improved upon its recorded original. The loud moments (of which there were many) were made doubly devastating by the inclusion of two drummers, and during these points Elverum cut an animated figure on stage. These noise assaults made the moments of serenity all the more affecting; album highlight My Heart Is At Peace was achingly beautiful, and the haunting closing words of Summons, assisted by the shimmer of cymbals, almost seemed to flutter away on the wind as they left Elverum's mouth. It's the imagery of Elverum's words, coupled with his soft, plaintive voice that makes his music sound so organic, so natural, whether it's accompaniment is the sound of thunder, or a gently blowing breeze.