2024-09-29 | Hubris, Mountainscape, AV Sunset | Rough Trade, Nottingham

A Sunday night slot in Nottingham can never be an easy proposition, but with a targeted ad coming my way for the return of Hubris but a day before the event, this time with the mighty Mountainscape in tow, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, despite of an early start for London the next day.

As exepcted, Rough Trade wasn’t exactly heaving, with around 25 people in attendance when I arrived. Northampton post rockers AV Sunset kicked us off, with a solid performance of jangly guitar tones and some excellent sound swells. Despite not sharing the “black at all costs” attire, vests and tats typical of this particular show’s brand of post rock band, the group were highly entertaining for their short set. Hopefully they can get more exposure as they continue to tour with Hubris.

Next were Mountainscape, a band I’ve been following for a few years, with their gorgeous album covers drawing me back time after time. Also, as readers of Gigregator will no doubt know, their varied style of post-rock-come-metal speaks to my tastes perfectly. The trio created an monumental soundscape for their size. As their delicate sections made way for oppressive bleakness, it’s easy to see where the band’s name came from, eliciting feelings of being stranded atop a snow drifted mountain with no hope of rescue. As undoubtedly the heaviest band of the night, the heavily distorted bass sat higher in the mix, giving levels of filth that were reminding me of Russian Circles at times.

My evaluation of seeing them live can be summed up in one word: intricate. With complex time signatures, melodic basslines and effects pedals being toggled in complex sequences seemingly every other bar, the band weren’t necesssarly as tight AV Sunset, but they certainly pulled off an impressive performance, enough for me to go and support by buying a shirt. I was particularly impressed with how little the band were relying on backing tracks, opting for live loops instead, which sounded flawless to my ear.

Hubris unceremoniously announced the beginning of their set to draw the stragglers through to the stage. They started strong, with my favourite of their tracks, Heracles. In a relatively short headline set, they managed to keep up the momentum, blending their highly textural sound with moments of driving intensity - the band were tight as ever. They were also super compelling to watch, with the rhythm guitarist expending buckets of energy in the heavier sections.

I’d be remiss not to mention the quality of the production for this event, with two bands commenting on the seamlessness of their tech, and levels being nailed on for each band, depsite their differing compositions. Props to the folks at Rough Trade, doing the midlands post rock fans proud.