Thursday, February 29, 2024

Live Review - Corpus Delicti, Ash Code and Twisted Nerve at La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, Feb 28th 2024

 

Aaahh, the 90’s, the glorious decade when goth finally dared speak its name, but withdrew into (appropriately) the underworld as the mainstream (and many fans) moved on to the various delights of the rave, grunge and industrial scenes amongst others. A decade of fanzine culture, club nights, and a shift in focus from the UK and California to a more global phenomenon weighed down by musical and stylistic tropes which arguably stifled some of the creativity which made the genre so appealing in the first place. Few acts of that era have a canon of work which is still critically-acclaimed, but France’s Corpus Delicti have an enduring appeal that makes a small UK tour a viable possibility, particularly when as on this enterprising Edinburgh triple bill promoted by London’s Reptile club night they are supported by other outstanding acts, Twisted Nerve and Ash Code.




The former are always on top form on home turf, and this month sees the fortieth anniversary of the original release of their seminal Séance mini-LP, championed at the time by legendary BBC DJ John Peel (who once divulged on-air that the band were his drinking buddies prior to visits to see his favourite Scottish football team, Meadowbank Thistle, who were based in the Scottish capital at that time). It was however criminally ignored by the wider public, although the 2020 reissue (on blue vinyl) has belatedly brought more well-overdue credit for a record whose musical content matched its innovative format (one side played at 45 RPM and the other at 33 1/3), with interest sustained by the ongoing popularity of the title track in goth clubs around the globe. Singer Craig Paterson may recently have celebrated a ‘big birthday’, but the energetic frontman shows no signs of letting up in his on-stage performance, a key part of the band’s appeal. Delivering a shortened set early in the evening to an appreciative and diverse crowd, Paterson introduces undoubted set highlight Twisted Nervosis as a gothic love ballad before picking up the pace with the inevitable punky set-closer 5 Minutes of Fame. Personally-speaking, I could watch them every week, which is probably just as well, as they seem to be billed as support for most of the bands I’m planning to see over the next couple of months (Vazum, 1919 and Ghost Dance for example). 



Ash Code took to the stage next looking uber-cool as always in black, despite having flown in that afternoon from their native Italy. The Neapolitan darkwave trio have been one of the most high-profile acts on the European scene over the past decade, and their sharp image, consistent musical output, in-demand remixes and powerful live performances have made them a popular choice in their own right with promoters across the continent (including festival appearances at WGT, Amphi, W-Fest and A Murder of Crows amongst others). Twin brothers Alessandro (vocals) and Adriano Belluccio (bass), along with Claudia Bellanotte (vocals and “deep and melancholic synths”), create a sound which draws on many of the genre’s 1980’s roots (from Clan of Xymox through the darker end of Depeche Mode’s output to the more out-and-out dark club beats of Front 242), with latest single Tear You Down mastered by another local legend Kill Shelter, who was in the audience for this gig. After a relatively slow start, classics like Fear soon had the crowd dancing and Claudia’s impassioned vocal on Betrayed was another highlight. By the end of their well-paced set, which featured heavier and truncated versions of many of their best-known songs, they received rapturous applause for a highly impressive performance, especially when considering that they were sandwiched between two incredibly powerful guitar-based goth bands.



 

Corpus Delicti were returning to Scotland’s capital for the first time in 26 years (a handful of the audience had been at the previous show!) and they too chose an understated start to their set, allowing fans time to take in the full range of their appeal. Whilst, like the classic 80’s bands, each band member makes their own significant contribution – Chrys’ melodious basslines played high on the bottom string, the kilt-wearing (cultural appropriation? Moi?) Franck seemingly effortlessly coaxing wonderfully shimmering shards of guitar noise, Laurent reimagining Roma’s inventive drum patterns, and Sébastien’s incredibly powerful and dramatic vocal performance – the overall effect is a scintillating fusion of magic, music and drama which few other bands of any era can achieve. Corpus Delicti may hail from the sunny Côte d’Azur, but the innovative dark streak in their classic albums of the early-mid 90’s marked them out from the competition.  Whilst most 90’s goth acts looked no further than First and Last and Always for their humdrum sonic template, the Nice-based act’s debut set harked back to the sound of 1981, with Bauhaus’ sophomore set Mask, the Banshees’ Juju and UK Decay’s For Madmen Only inspiring the somewhat derivative but enchanting first LP Twilight, before the band really found(ed) their own unique and inventive strand of the gothic aesthetic on the follow-up Sylphes.  As expected, their set soon livens up with a string of classics from these two LPs, Noxious (Demon’s Game), Dusk of Hallows, Absent Friend, Staring and Still Patient all still as potent as thirty years ago, not least because of Sebastien’s stage presence, staring intently at individual audience members on the more dramatic lines of each multi-sectioned song, before performing Motherland from third album Obsessions to one clearly-overcome member of the front-row and then walking through the crowd and singing to individuals in the moshpit during a mesmerising and lilting middle section of Lorelei. The pure theatre of their music never made more sense than in this unforgettable and magical scene, uniting performers and audience, so the following cover of Joy Division’s Atmosphere was a welcome chance for both the crowd and the band to draw breath before a final assault of the coruscating new single Chaos and a double encore of Broken and of course the inevitable finale Saraband. As expected, an emotionally as well as physically draining gig for both committed musicians and engaged observers, but overall a thoroughly life-affirming gothic experience which the band promised would be repeated well before another twenty-six years are up!

 


Even for a winter Wednesday evening which clashed with the Edinburgh soccer derby, Reptile would probably still have been a little disappointed with the size of the crowd which was probably not that far into three figures, considering the unique three generations of stellar goth talent on display, but the enthusiastic response of those who were in attendance will hopefully encourage them to bring more shows to Scotland on the future.

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