Stars Of The Lid live review
Stars of the Lid are two guitarists manipulating a string quartet with banks of effects pedals playing deeply resonating, multi-textured chords at such a tectonic tempo and immense volume as to offer a re-evaluation of the words slow and loud. What initially appears to be a game to see which intense swells can strike the right resonant frequency to make the entire room vibrate swiftly graduates beyond an exercise in sound into something utterly hypnotic and beguiling.
Beatless and melody-free, this should be the hard-going stuff, but a nuanced and massively gratifying structure, musical intelligence and a relentless beauty washes the gig with an opiod swoon, cleansing the aural palette while opening listeners’ ears to new experiences that are equally fearsome, tender and spellbinding. Abstract and minimalist this may be, but don’t be put off – it is also truly extraordinary stuff.
