Following the release of their fourth album Light A Bigger Fire on 20th September IST IST hit the road on an extensive UK tour packing out the small intimate venues wherever they have played. Tonight it is the turn of Slay in Glasgow to get a chance to listen to the ten tracks from Light A Bigger Fire and more. When Cucamaras took to the stage at 7.30pm there were only a couple of dozen folk in the venue, that suited us fine as it meant we could get down to the barrier to watch the Nottingham band play a half hour set packed with energy as a nice warm up for the main event, their music can be described as post-punk or alternative-rock. Vocalist Olly Bowley was a joy to watch as he strutted around the stage with his guitar in a sometimes trance-like state reminding us of the style of the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division. The best tracks of the set were Death To The Social and Bleachers Yard they also played a couple of new tracks and by the time they left the stage Slay was filling up nicely. 7/10
Manchester band IST IST have their own unique music style and sound and their influences can be heard within the music, bands such as The Stranglers, The Clash, New Order and The Cure spring to mind when listening to IST IST with the heavy bass riffs and alternative or punk styles. Forming in 2014 they are Adam Houghton (vocals/guitar), Matt Peters (guitar/keys/synth), Andy Keating (bass) and Joel Kay (drums) and release all their music through their own Kind Violence Records label. The set begins with Lost My Shadow the first track from the fourth album, they quickly whipped the crowd up to a frenzy as they work well as a band. The standout here is the bass playing of Andy Keating, he is dressed all in black with a long leather jacket and is cool as you like throughout the set. The vocal style of Adam Houghton is very unique as the set continues with The Kiss, another from Light A Bigger Fire before Stamp You out from the 2023 album Protagonists is one of the best of the twenty-track set, the crowd down at the barrier are helping to keep the energy high with their enthusiasm for every song that is played (us included), a few have made the trip up from Manchester especially for this show.
We are finding it hard to keep our eyes off guitarist and keyboard player Matt Peters as he continuously swaps instruments creating some sensational sounds on the keys and synth in true Gary Numan style, hearing these new tracks tonight is very special. The most notable song played in the main set from the latest record is XXX, a truly classy track that has everything you could possibly want. As Dreams Aren’t Enough and Repercussions end the main set the band leave the stage to huge enthusiasm from the crowd. They are back on soon enough to play out the night with a four track encore to the delight of everyone in Slay kicking off with Emily from the 2018 EP Spinning Rooms quickly followed by Hope To Love Again. The two best tracks are left right to the end though, in our opinion as the night ends with Your Mine, a track that has such an explosive burst of emotions and one that demands self-expression, the New Order and Joy Division inspiration comes to the fore during this one. Whilst Ghost is the last song of the set, a keyboard-led track from the latest album that has already created such a great impression on the fans when played live. The IST IST tour heads over to Europe for a few shows in November, catch this band in the small venues while you can. 9/10
Written by: Alan Brown
