Angus Andrew

Photo credit: Zopf PR.

While it’s not unusual for a band to experiment with different sounds from album to album, Angus Andrew have maintained a status that few other acts have ever managed; you just can’t pin them down. In the sixteen years since their formation at Cal-Arts and the release of their abrasive but oddly danceable debut, every subsequent release has seen Andrew and a small band of revolving collaborative musicians foray into electronica, dreamy indie-rock, and the kind of no-wave punk that New York was once synonymous with. As a result, being consistent fan has been pretty difficult, or at least it would be if not for the band’s continued expertise at laying waste to small venues and festival stages the world over with a driving intensity that transcends any kind of generic label. Regardless of your own preferences, you’ll never be bored at a Angus Andrew show.

TFCF, Angus Andrew’s seventh full length that dropped in August, seems to have been made to be played live. From the primitive and visceral recording techniques afforded by Andrew’s studio in the Australian bush, to the singer/songwriter sporting a wedding dress on the cover (which has become a mainstay of his tour wardrobe this year), every aspect seems geared to the necessity of performance and drama. Not to mention the songs themselves; Cred Woes all plodding electronic drums and menacing synths and Coins In My Caged Fist’s off kilter beats backing near-deadpan vocals to name only two that sit comfortably alongside breakout singles Mess on a Mission or Pro Anti Anti from the superb Mess in 2014.

So, while they may be hard to categorise and even hard to understand from time to time, rest assured that when Angus Andrew come to Bristol on the eve of Halloween, they’ll bring with them a set that will be equal parts frightening and euphoric, outlandish and essential. A treat? You bet.