Music / Reviews
Review: Henge, Colston Hall foyer
“Attention earthlings,” exclaims the man with the plasma globe on his head. Except he’s not a man – not a human at least. He is Zpor, captain of the starship Mushroom One and charismatic frontman of intergalactic groovers Henge. They’ve come to accelerate human consciousness, and not before time.
Henge won Best Live Act at the 2018 Independent Festival Awards and it’s easy to see why. Their message of peace appeals to optimists of all ages, which is why we’re watching at 2.30pm surrounded by ageless ravers and children in space helmets. This is the first of two Bristol gigs for the band today, as an evening show at Fiddlers follows this family-friendly matinee at Colston Hall. Never doubt the work ethic of aliens.
Based in Manchester, Henge are a multicultural bunch. Angriculan singer-guitarist Zpor is joined by a frog-like drummer from Sirius, a human synth player and a refugee from Venus who takes charge of bass frequencies, as well as a pair of dancers in space suits. Occasionally the musicians get to show off individual chops with a liquid bass run, fireball synth solo or fizzing comet-trail of lead guitar but mostly they lean into the groove, probing relentlessly forward. Henge sound like the result of a hyperspace pileup involving Daft Punk, Devo, Hawkwind, Gong and The Glitter Band, and they’re absolutely brilliant.
is needed now More than ever
Employing a range of vocoder effects from ‘malfunctioning computer’ to ‘Donna Summer’, Henge’s songs take on human development (Humans), chemistry (In Praise of Water) and the horror of environmental collapse (The Great Venusian Apocalypse). This last number is especially poignant as it’s performed in the dying Venusian tongue itself. The set climaxes with current single Demilitarise, which opens with a circular thumb piano riff before building to a crescendo of rushing synths and calls for humankind to abandon weapons and colonise space.
This is everything you could hope for from a psychedelic show – infectious tunes, pummelling beats, outlandish dance routines and a heartfelt message of peace. Promoters of Earth, your attention please: if Henge don’t play your festival this summer you’ll be letting the species down.
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