Music / Reviews
Review: Tesseract, Thekla
Thekla is cast in thin blue light, wisps of smoke trailing across the stage as the slow surges of entrance music build to a crescendo. Tesseract open their set with a smash, performing Phoenix from their new record Polaris before launching into the epic, crowd-pleasing Deception from their earliest EP. This is the moment the crowd has been waiting for, and as the powerful chorus gives way to the twisting, grinding mid-section the entire floor of the Thekla descends into anarchy, fans throwing themselves across the room with reckless abandon.
Vocalist Daniel Tompkins transfixes throughout with his stunning voice, effortlessly switching between a beautiful high range and a gutsy, full-throated roar, with bassist Amos Jones providing an occasional deep-throated growl in support. Guitarists Alec ‘Acle’ Kahney and James Montreith are perfectly in sync throughout, locking in with Jay Postones on drums to form a potent rhythmic framework, laced with dancing, scintillating melodies.
The band is on fantastic form with not a single beat out of place all night. Close friend of the band Martin Grech joins them onstage to perform Hexes, a stunning rendition that highlights the chemistry between the two vocalists. The reaction from the crowd as they launch into Dystopia shows the strength of their latest album as every new song is welcomed with a rousing cheer.
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As you’d expect from a band of this calibre, the sound quality is spot-on; their live show sounds every bit as good as their records, and follows the dynamics from bone-shakingly loud to softly ethereal effortlessly. Every nuance of studio production is dutifully re-created to impressive effect, and the band’s stage presence maintains the sense of urgency crucial to a successful live performance.
The sold-out Thekla suits the band perfectly too; the newly-renovated sound system is exceptionally good and the room is intimate without feeling cramped, a well-judged light show really setting off the band’s performance. Tesseract are clearly a band who mean to build on their success and have put a great deal of effort into constructing a high-quality performance – make sure you catch them on their current UK tour.
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