It’s tried and tested, I could see Delta Sleep time and time again without tiring of it. I first saw them at The Brudenell Social Club’s tiny games room with in 2013 with The Physics House Band, two up and coming new bands from Brighton riding the wave of a golden age in UK math rock. These were heady times. I’d spent a year in Leeds and the Brude felt like the northern epicentre of complex and unusual music. I’d made a lot of friends on the scene and discovered a huge number of bands I adore to this day, though truth be told, a little math rock fatigue was starting to set in for me. You see, one too many bands were shoehorning every idea they had into their songs, with one eye seemingly always on impressing their friends. As such, it took a lot for new bands with a taste for unusual time signatures, tapping fretboards and quirky rhythms to impress me.
But Jesus, did Delta Sleep reel me in from day one. Much like Tall Ships, this was math rock with pop sensibilities, with equal parts technical ability and massive hooks, with soul. Since then I’ve seen them countless times. Their first US tour coincided with my 30th birthday trip to New York. Seeing them play to a packed out Brooklyn bar ranks up there with the best shows I’ve ever seen, the excitement for seeing them unlike any I’d ever witnessed on home soil, before or since. I’ve spent a lot of money on their merch and records. I’ve watched them livestream performances through a pandemic and been to see them 4 times since we could get back out again. Basically, I really like Delta Sleep.
This time, in an end of year treat at Gorilla, they are once again touring with The Physics House Band. Now I’ll admit, the first couple of times I saw Physics, I was impressed by their talents as virtuoso musicians, but didn’t hugely care for the music they were making. Of course, even that first time at the Brude, I couldn’t help but be hypnotised by drummer Dave Morgan in particular, with his Whiplash levels of physical exertion behind the kit. But they just never really clicked for me as a band to listen to, so much as be entertained by their prowess in a live setting. However, this time around, my perspective has shifted, largely due to the addition of Miles Spilsbury as a permanent fixture in the lineup on keys and saxophone. Not only is he a joy to watch, pulling some fantastic muso ‘bad smell faces’, but his soaring brass solos bring tracks to mesmerising crescendos, soaring over the pomp of their mix of jazz, metal and prog influences. Such is the reaction they receive from the crowd, you’d think they were playing a headline set.
That is, until Delta Sleep take to the stage, immediately launching into ‘View To A Fill’ from latest album Spring Island. The natural scenery of the album artwork provides the backdrop to the stage, as leaves entwine mic stands and amps, a nod to the climate anxiety that underpins much of the album’s lyrical content. A few tracks in, perhaps the most uneasy of all of the tracks on the record, ‘The Softest Touch’, proves one of the most intense performances of the night, with its complex intro giving way to its opening lines delivered in hopeless monotone, ‘It often feels conflicting / Writing about the same thing / Pass out, wake up repeating / The future isn’t ending’.
I’m struck by how super-assured the band are these days, even on a night where regular bassist Dave Jackson is missing while his wife is due to give birth. Physics’ Miles slots in seriously impressively, keeping a watchful eye on Blake Mostyn’s drumming while playing parts that are by no means simple. Their calmness is only momentarily shaken by an amp failure during ‘Sofa Boy’, which seems as if it’s caused by the sheer heft of the track’s opening chords. Despite a short delay, the song is restarted exactly as left off and is an early set highlight.
While the majority of the material is pulled from Spring Island or the Younger Years EP, there’s room for a number of older tracks too, which showcases the band’s subtle evolution over time. Sure, they’ve retained their distinctive sound, but Devin Yüceil has found ways to weave in more and more personal lyrics addressing his worries, feelings and hopes and offering catharsis to an audience who share them. It makes for choruses being belted out at volumes almost (but not quite) equalling those of perennial favourites, ‘Camp Adventure’ and ‘Lake Sprinkle Sprankle’. By last track, ‘El Pastor’, the room is at fever pitch. Blake’s tongue in cheek request to ‘see a circle pit’ is unexpectedly taken seriously – within seconds of the opening riff ringing out, there’s a small maelstrom of bouncing bodies jigging around at the front and singing their lungs out. Dear reader, I number among them.
SOUNDS TASTY 