Ist Ist, St. Philips Church. 17th August 2018

I’ve not been feeling 100%, so it was with some trepidation that I took myself off to a church... in the middle of Salford... to watch a somewhat somber rock band tonight. Ist Ist are an echo of a certain type of Manchester band. They dress in black, surround themselves with stark bleak imagry and make the kind of music that would scare the trench coats off Joy Division. There’s something about this music though that lifts me, there’s an industrial strength to it and even with singer Adam Houghton’s dark lyrical introspection, it’s that bass heavy delivery that he shares with Curtis that bolsters that strength, although the line “What are you doing here these people aren’t your friends” does send a chill down my spine. This is the first time I’ve seen them live having fallen for their near perfect Spinning Rooms mini-album and it’s the first time I’ve been in this church (I missed SRC playing here), the combination of the two couldn’t be more perfect. It’s small but imposing, the beginning of something that threatens to take over the world. I won’t say it’s a religious experience, but it’s certainly spell-binding. The atmosphere from the very beginning is tense, matching the air of expectance and although the sound in this church isn’t as great as some I’ve been in, the band do match their majestic surroundings. I’d be lying if every song sounded like an instant classic, but some do and the ones that don’t are so disarming, that they’ve wrestled you to the floor and beat you into submission by their close. Much of this due to the drummer, now I’m often loathed to big up the drummer too much, but this guy brings so much to the sound, his drive is utterly relentless! The bassist appears to be channeling his inner Carlos Dengler with his sharp suit and low slung bass, but unfortunately looks a bit like a bank manager who’s turning you down for a mortgage, despite clearly being a few years younger than you. This band are clearly already loved though. A chat at the bar, “Were you at Glasgow?, no I saw them at Norwich, ah yes I was at Norwich”. There’s quite a few miles between those cities! After the set, utterly taken, I made my way to the merch table to treat myself, aforementioned album bought on vinyl and signed by the band, who were lovely lads. There is hope in this world. This dark dark world.