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Halls, NZCA/ LINES + Corpse Lights, Corsica Studios, London

First OnLive Reviews

Halls’ headline set is right on-the-money.

1st December 2011, Corsica Studios, London / By Jamie Milton
Halls Less than a year back, Samuel Howard was tentatively putting the finishing touches to songs he’d recorded in his own student halls (hence his chosen stage-name), readying them for an online appearance. We were gifted delicate works of electronic music, bereft of vocals but delightful in their promise. One by one, people came round to the fact that Howard had something a little bit special. But few rise to attention (or, for want of a better word, ‘buzz’) with as much aplomb as Halls. He transformed himself, recording trembling vocals at the core of his mixes and hiring two mates to join him on stage. Within months, his tall frame lurches over a microphone, standing confidently with something resembling a full band, playing songs from his first label EP release, ‘Fragile’. Talk about a step up.

Though progression is the only thing on Halls’ agenda, he’s still got some way to go. His full band are in their early days, unlike those of NZCA/LINES, the act preceding our headline act. The sleekness of their performance is almost offputting; they come across like veterans of the live circuit, similar to seeing Metronomy three years into a soon to be illustrious career. Glossy, minimal pop leaps out in a brilliantly clear light from Corsica Studios’ excellent sound system, with songs like ‘Compass Points’ announcing themselves as surefire future hits.

More rough around the edges is Corpse Lights. Though keen to show their undeniable ambition, they’re the least set-in-their-ways of tonight’s acts. Draped in golden-glittered capes, two of the members never lift their glance from the drum pads and sampler sat in front of them, while the frontman glides across the stage. There are hints of The Knife and SALEM in the autotuned vocals and punchy percussion, occasionally gleaming out from their performance. But what they mean to create is not quite what comes out, or at least, you hope not. Nonetheless, they seem keen to bring forth something new and evolving, rather than the somewhat arty chaos that appears tonight.

Halls’ sound fits neither of the previous two acts, but his headline set is right on-the-money for what tonight’s crowd hope to see. ‘Fragile’’s finest moments carry more weight than ever, with harsh percussion setting delicate songs alight into something resembling a kaleidoscopic dream. In ‘I Am Not Who You Want’, Howard excels from his potential by sounding just as torn-up and vulnerable as on record, whilst ‘Lifeblood’ reveals itself as a seminal track in Halls’ back-catalogue. Tonight’s set all the more confirms that said back-catalogue will be expanding spectacularly, if Howard continues on a similar trajectory. Rating: 8/10
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