Live Review: Arcane Roots @ Coventry Kasbah

Saturday 4th May 2013: Arcane Roots, The James Cleaver Quintet, House of Rosslyn @ Kasbah, Coventry

A line-up that boasts some of the most exciting – if still slightly under the radar – bands in rock music today, the meagre Kasbah turnout at the start of the night truly belied the talent on offer. Nevertheless, House of Rosslyn caused something of a stir; their live vocals are occasionally reminiscent of an ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’-era Kings of Leon, with a slightly Strokes-esque undercurrent from the rest of the band. At one point, there’s a certain comparison to be made with Kaiser Chiefs, and perhaps a touch of Red Hot Chilli Peppers elsewhere.

But during this showcasing of the rock music spectrum, the Coventry and Manchester-based House of Rosslyn certainly hold their own – ‘One Day’ shows a lot of promise with the sing-along chorus that would not be out of place at a festival, and ‘Rosslyn’ exhibits the maturity of a much older band. The performance is not phenomenal and their sound is far from ground-breaking, but it’s definitely a sign of good things to come. With a little more individuality in their song writing and some movement in their performance, they could definitely be onto a winning formula.

After a short break and the addition of possibly 10 more spectators, The James Cleaver Quintet took to the very small stage. However, they somehow managed to find room for keyboards and bongos as well as (rather confusingly) six band members and their appropriate instruments. You couldn’t help but wonder how they would have enough elbow-room to play their instruments, let alone deliver the animated and ferociously vivacious performance that has become associated with the JCQ.

For the entirety of their half hour set, the Eastbourne collective thrashed and writhed about, somehow finding oceans of room where there ostensibly was none. Their use of space bordered on choreographic and it all served to create one of the most intense live experiences available in the rock market today.

As they seamlessly rolled from one monstrous breakdown to the next without so much as a ‘how do you do?’ it became apparent that the JCQ were a band who came to rock out. With their new album The Mechanical Young being unleashed in June, the band took a second to chat about it, but as they looked out over the still-empty room, simply said “but you probably don’t care because you’ve never heard of us”.

It was something of a low-point for an otherwise superb set, as the band appeared somewhat defeated and disheartened, but nevertheless, they deliver the likes of ‘Think Or Swim’ and ‘Chicken S*** (For the Soul)’ as if it’s the last thing they’ll get to do and ultimately create a level of atmosphere, passion and danger that you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.

That is, unless you’re at an Arcane Roots concert.

With their debut album ‘Blood & Chemistry’ finally being unleashed, the night’s set chiefly comprised tracks from the 4 K!-rated venture. The set roared into life with the scintillating ‘Energy Is Never Lost, Just Redirected’ and took a trip through the new tracks ‘Sacred Shapes’, ‘Belief’ and new single ‘Slow’ to mention but a few. But each song from the new album sounds as if they’ve been playing them for years; the band is so unbelievably tight and together through every twist and turn of their mathcore-tinged stylings.

This isn’t to say that they abandoned their older material – ‘In This Town of Such Weather’ and ‘You Are’ sound just as colossal as they always have done, and invoke some sign of life from the crowd with surprisingly loud singalongs from such a small gathering of people.

Suffice to say then that Arcane Roots are doing something right; they hold the potential of being one of Britain’s leading power trios. They certainly possess the talent and material to do so. Of course, while Muse and Biffy Clyro are still hanging around, it’ll be quite a task for them, but vocalist and guitarist Andrew Groves more than has the appropriate aptitude to put him up against Matt Bellamy and Simon Neil.

Across a blistering 55 minutes, Groves, bassist Adam Burton and drummer Daryl Atkins give it nothing less than their absolute all, intertwining the maniacal characteristics of mathcore with gorgeous melodies and the most tender harmonies with crushing breakdowns.

‘You Keep Me Here’ closed the marvellous display in breath-taking fashion and it seemed a very fitting song to end with, as there is no doubt whatsoever that anybody and everybody in attendance wanted to be kept there longer.

There are, quite simply, not enough superlatives in the English language for their performance on Saturday night – nowhere near. It was stunningly majestic and magnificently spectacular. It was a master class in modern rock and performance in general. They carried the stage presence you’d expect at the world’s top festivals and delivered a sound that could fill arenas and it surely won’t be too long before the greater stages come a-calling.

It’s a shame that the crowd was so small, but it also makes it even more of a treasure for those who did make the trip. 2013 is off to a bright start for Arcane Roots, but their performance at Kasbah suggests that the future is a hell of a lot brighter.

Words: Jack Terry