Mono, Gorilla. 31st October 2025

Tonight’s a severe gear change from last night. From being sat in a massive arena filled with polished radio friendly indie pop, to standing in the intimate bunker that is Gorilla, with Mono testing the foundations with some epic post rock. The excitement builds as the four piece take to the stage dressed in black. This isn’t going to be doom laden though, quite the opposite, it’s euphoric and when I say euphoric I mean it. In the first few minutes of the set as they soar through ‘Run On’, I’m already grinning like an idiot and thinking this might be gig of the year. Fuck me they’re powerful. The set up looks simple, guitars and drums, no vocal, but they conjure something magical. They’ve something of GY!BE about them in the quieter moments and more Mogwai as they unleash on ‘We All Shine’. They look a bit disjointed as they play, heads bobbing at different tempos, locked in to their own parts, but put it together and it’s pure alchemy. They pack some serious clout with driving drums that set such a pace, the guitars are forever battling to keep up, but they do and it’s brilliant. ‘Innocence’ sits somewhere inbetween, like Sigur Ros with more meat on the bone. The crisp guitar slicing through the primal drums. It’s medicinally relaxing, well until the maelstrom of guitars explodes. They sound incredible in here, the curved concrete sealing the sound in as it beautifully bludgeons our ears. I might regret leaving my earplugs at home. ‘Sorrow’ hits a sombre melancholic vein and I close my eyes. If you can get me to do this you’ve done well, it means I’m lost and in love. The world drifts as they soar and the lights warm my eyelids. My chest swells and I’m gone. This is what the ascent to heaven must sound like. Every song is approached like a classical movement, building cinematically. But between the shoegazey melodies of ‘Recoil’, with effortless control, they let loose. Here with a glorious chaos that’s utterly gripping. With the bass replaced by keys and a drum stick drawn across the neck of a guitar, they prove they can do gentle wistful beauty just as well as the heavier stuff. The keys adding a warmth to ‘Hear the Wind’ as we all gently sway. This is what hope sounds like. ‘Ashes’ ties it all together in unadulterated bliss. Before possibly the most accessible ‘Time Goes By’ takes us to the encore with a spring in its step. They close with the sublimely menacing ‘Com(?)’, which lulls you in with a gentle calm, before unleashing absolute hell. They seem like a nice bunch of people, but this is deadly. I’ve seen some great gigs this year, but this firmly staked a claim as one of the very best.