It is very difficult to express in words the impact that music has had on several generations. Lisabö, a proposal that drew on many of our foreign references but at the same time integrated them into their own sound corpus that was reinforced by live performances (given in dribs and drabs, like everything else in them) of pure cathartic volcanism. That is why Thursday’s appointment at the Jimmy Jazz room became essential, our particular pilgrimage to Mecca with the presentation of the new album by the Guipuzcoan sextet as an addition, a “until we become bones in the frozen garden” (2023, biDEhUTS) which according to them represents the continuation of the previous “And We Undressed in the Blossoms of Beauty” (2018, biDEhUTS) and which becomes a new milestone for a simply historic career.
Opening the evening were – Devicewhich made us forget the cold outside with their unorthodox and insane proposal crystallized in their latest reference “Self Destruction Has Begun 3,2,1…Znort!” (2023, biDEhUTS). The trio formed by Mikel, Drake and Okene, who returned to the fray a couple of years ago after two decades in fallow, displayed a set that, like Frankenstein’s monster, appeared sewn together by multiple sound fragments and came to life with the energy of a band who knows no limits because his imagination is infinite. Industrialism, spoken word, post-punk, kraut, free-jazz, hip-hop, dub, drum & bass…, all swallowed, digested and vomited in a sonic mass of a thousand colors and executed with mastery to shape a live performance that he could be fierce, hypnotic and sexy at the same time. Their electrifying final part with the anthem “Euskal Polizia” (yes, even they can have one) shot us into the stratosphere and reminded us that, above the thousand labels that are thrown at them, this has always been about PUNK, as well as capital letters.
With the good taste of the opening in our mouths we faced the exit to the tables of Lisabö, who gave us one of the best live performances that I remember in a long time. And the people from Gipuzkoa have squared the circle by playing and getting along better than ever but maintaining that seminal energy that elevated them to the top, an almost alchemical balance that many bands with their tradition would kill for. This trajectory is what makes his live shows function more as a celebration of everything he has done than as a present frame, a biopic in constant movement through which, in addition to the benefits of his latest reference, we once again enjoyed some of the most powerful from already legendary albums like “Ezaria” (2000, Say It Loud), “The Places” (2007, biDEhUTS) o “The Well of Embarrassed Animals” (2011, biDEhUTS).
Their current lineup invokes a wall of sound that winks at Michael Gira and his hosts, with that tectonic game of mirrors between his two drummers and the three guitars deploying a tremendous angular tangle capable of combining hypnotism with moments of pure intimidating noise, and executed by a group of musicians who conveyed passion and that complicity that comes with the years and being aware that one is the absolute owner of one’s proposal. Without letting up and ignoring any unnecessary breaks, they built a mimetic live performance with most of their compositions due to their way of embracing the crescendo, reaching a final part (encores included) that left us literally breathless and with the feeling, a once again, to be in front of a historic band. For 25 more years.