Salient

My Disco

By Matthew Proctor | 5 Mar, 2007

Tuesday February 27 San Francisco Bathhouse

My Disco typifies the hardcore aesthetic of making complex, intentionally abrasive music, but with intensely focused, precise rhythm. All the excesses of hardcore have been stripped away, leaving thundering distorted guitar (Ben Andrews) superimposed over methodically wandering basslines (Liam Andrews), backed by drumming defining the intricate time signatures (Rohan Rebeiro) that make up the music. All played LOUD.

The set list was made up of songs from their debut full-length album, Cancer, and similar songs. A marked departure from the organised fury of ‘The Language of Numbers’ and ‘Collapse of an Erratic Lung’, My Disco’s new sound is more instantly accessible, but lacks the complexity of their earlier work. The tightening of rhythms shows a definite shift towards math rock.

The music was heavily riff based, eschewing the chaotic distortion solos of their earlier material, and based around rigid song structure. Most songs were instrumental, and when vocals were included they were more likely to be screamed or simply loudly spoken rather than sung. Although eminently rock-out-able, the mathematical repetition of riffs failed to excite the audience.That said, one thing My Disco could not be accused of is lack of energy. The Rebeiro’s cymbals were destroyed by the end of the concert. The high hat in particular had to be constantly adjusted so a relatively undamaged part was facing him. Liam’s guitar was plugged into three different distortion pedals in series, followed by a delay. The choice of distortion would be changed several times at key points in the song, and the delay turned on and off marking shifts in time signatures or other significant changes.

In spite of this, the crowd never really got into their performance. Although, the San Francisco Bathhouse is probably not the ideal venue for a band of this kind, and a tour with So So Modern is an unusual match to say the least. Following on from two indie electronica acts (Disasteradio and Frase+Bri) and preceding the madness that is a So So Modern concert, heavy, slow and intentionally atonal riffs were probably not what the audience were looking for. While definitely enjoyable, My Disco were not as well received as they were on their first tour.