Gig review: Ist Ist at Heathrow House, Leeds
Near-solely trotting out fresh material with firm reason, the Greater Manchester post-punk outfit let their latest record do the talking with a burbling thrill to its rattling melodies.
“Tonight’s a celebration, so thanks for being here, Leeds,” Ist Ist frontman Adam Houghton informs the small crowd crammed around the low apron of the Headrow House stage. “We’re playing the new album in full, so it’s a shorter set than normal.” He barks a wry laugh. “It is a bit pathetic, isn’t it?”
The Greater Manchester four-piece – Houghton, bassist Andy Keating, multi-instrumentalist Mat Peters and drummer Joel Kay – trade in self-deprecation as second nature, emotions that gild the underbelly of a post-punk palate that frequently plays as if it is the missing link between Joy Division and New Order, propulsive and rattling melodies that spark off each other with austere harmonics amid the cacophony.
Still, it is a mark of their confidence rather than any cowardice that this abridged release show in conjunction with Crash Records is dedicated near-solely to trotting out fresh material, albeit with firm reason too. Dagger, the band’s fifth long-player, is arguably their best to date, awash in new-wave fillips and snap-crash rhythms that fill the low-roof space of this onetime textile mill with a burbling thrill, enhanced by the relentless pitter-patter of fog-shrouded rain against the windowpanes outside.
Houghton keeps conversation mostly to a minimum, letting the straight beats of opener I Am the Fear and the Blondie-ish tumble behind Makes No Difference do the talking. Live, the weight of this latest collection pops even better; Warning Signs sees him lean into his Curtis-esque range, while The Echo’s sub-industrial menace creeps along with impressive steam. “Does it sound like the record?” he asks at one point, to appreciative murmurs. “That’s good, that’s good.”
Song for Someone’s moody dream pop suggests the keen hooks and chops beneath their sonic ballast give Ist Ist their most bankable asset though, with their flirtations of cinematic depth on closer Ambition offers further refinement.
By the time they’ve tied up a tight 40 minutes with old cuts Night’s Arm and Hope to Love Again, it is mission firmly accomplished. “We want to be home by ten!” Keating chuckles. Here is the wish they stay later on their next visit.