IST IST, The Yard. 18th November 2023

I see your album in full gig and raise you three albums in full. That’s what IST IST are doing at The Yard tonight. All three studio albums to date in order. Well reverse order to be exact. Starting with this year’s Protagonists. The room goes dark, the lights on stage flash, a low synth hum emanates. They take the stage to some gentle applause and Andy’s bass drives us into ‘Stamp You Out’ as search lights probe the room. Drenched in smoke and backlit, the aesthetic is perfect. They’re the defination of atmospheric, often dark, but on this latest album there is light too, like on ‘Nothing More Nothing Less’ that sounds like it could’ve been on The Breakfast Club soundtrack. The beauty of the gig in full thing is of course you hear stuff live that maybe doesn’t always make a live set, like ‘All Downhill’ that sounds pretty monumental let loose. IST IST crowds are not really noted for too much movement. There is some bouncing around in the middle of the room, but ‘Emily’ gets the blood flowing throughout. This is an outlier on this record, predating the timeline of all three studio records, but I’m glad they’ve  finally included it, it’s amazing and proof they were brilliant right from the start. The lights in here are pretty decent, but it really comes to life here with stobes kicking. It’s a lovely venue, very civilised, plenty of room, good bar. It’s my first visit and I’m impressed. The slow somber ‘Artefacts’ follows next and feels like a real moment. Just Adam’s tender baritone and Mat’ piano. You can hear a pin drop. We wrap the album with the thunderous ‘Trapdoors’, then they say “see you soon” and they’re off. A quirk of a set that’s split into three parts.

20 minutes later we kick off part two with 2021s Art of Lying. I love this album, maybe more than I realised. We’ve moved further forward, due to arseholes chatting at the back and I can see the whites of Adam’s eyes as he delivers ‘Fat Cats Drown in Milk’. When he’s got them open that is, he does sing a lot with them closed. He stares us down though as he sings “Do you love me anymore” and the answer is a resounding yes. ‘The Waves’ decends like a warm hug over the room, the temperature notably rising. Its heartbeat throb reassuringly ticking along, before they hit the accelerator and it goes full 80s goth pop monster. It would be my favourite on the album, but that goes to ‘Extreme Greed’ that follows. For me it’s the centrepiece of the record that pulls everything together and live it sounds huge. Chat from the stage is minimal, they’re not a chatty band, but Andy takes the time to say how this album came about out of lockdown. It’s a beacon in that dark year and a marked change from the debut too, with songs like ‘Heads on Spilkes’. It’s quiet, very fucking loud dynamic sounding immense as a mirrorball peppers the walls. It seems some forget there’s one more song, with Adam and Mat once again pairing things back on ‘Don’t Go Gentle’ a soft lament that sounds beautiful. He always sounds good, but Adam’s tones sound particularly rich tonight and the soundman has done a lovely job. Mat sees the songs final seconds out with the solo piano leaving us all spellbound.

It doesn’t seem that long before they’re back for Architecture. I remember this debut record feeling very ambitious and confident on release. They’d not included any of the live favourites from the earlier Sessions record, but then you hear the bass wobble of opening track ‘Wolves’ and realise why. It’s a helluva opening song for any album, but a debut. It’s stunning. It all is, from the ferociously paced ‘Your Mine’ to the darkly euphoric ‘Black’. It’s an album of absolute bangers. Arms are aloft. The band lit in monochrome. Everyone singing. Phenomenal. The synth stabs and drum rolls of ‘Discipline’ fill my ears with the sort of joy than mainlines straight to your brain and they just keep coming. ‘A New Love Song’ may slow the pace, but its bass throb and vocal resonates with a solemn beauty, before Adam unleashes its terrifying menace. You rarely see him so animated, but free of the guitar he stalks and commands the stage. I’m in a puddle of (pick your own superlative), everyone singing “We’ve been deafened by the sound” on ‘Silence’. It’s moments like this that’s why I love coming to see bands. You’re together in a room of strangers, bonded by something special and speaking of special, ‘Drowning in the shallow End’ that I don’t think I’ve heard live before, sounds like Radiohead crossed with Joy Division. Andy thanks us again, as they go into the final flurry of tracks., but it’s us that should be thanking them, this has been incredible. Joel’s drumming which has been stunning all night, really drives ‘Night’s Arm’. It sends shockwaves down this arched room and pins people against the back wall. And I can’t help thinking it’s a good choice to finish with this album, it wouldn’t work quite the same the other way around. Not that Protagonists doesn’t have great songs, just scroll back up, but ‘Under Tour Sky’ could fill arenas. It has to end. I don’t want it too, but ‘Slowly We Escape’ feels like the perfect way to bring such a celebration to a close. It twists and turns through their arsenal and leaves us all grinning like idiots. Some gigs are special. Ones that you’ll say in years to come, I was there. This was such a gig.