These New Puritans
Bush Hall, London
25/01/2010

Much has been made of These New Puritans place at the vanguard of forward-thinking, imaginative young bands in the UK, but so far their live shows have been relatively straightforward. Sure, Jack Barnett used to fall asleep mid-set, but musically, it’s been straight out of the angular handbook; searing, jagged riffery, snarling antipathy and juddering surges of keyboard samples. Tonight, though, they make the leap forward they’ve always hinted at, reconstructing the apocalyptic orchestral explosions of second album ‘Hidden’ in thrilling, breathtaking fashion.

Backed up with a woodwind section for the first time – last week’s Rough Trade instore show saw the haunting brass sections recreated on keyboard – and with drummer George Barnett in possession of a big fucking drum, These New Puritans make a beautiful, deathly, funereal racket. It’s ‘Hidden’-centric – only the jitter-punk juggernaut of ‘Swords Of Truth’ gets a look-in from their debut – as they bruise and batter Bush Hall’s palatial grandeur over the course of a 45-minute set, the music veering from relentless, double-drummed blasts to intimate, woodwind warmth. Jack Barnett stalks the stage like a speed-addled 3-D, the primal bark of his early performances now replaced with paranoid whispers and anguished howls. It’s can’t-take-your-eyes-off from start to finish; after the stark horn intro of ‘Time Xone’, the futuristic stomp of ‘We Want War’ marches forth like a rusty Transformer, its unrelenting, schizoid rhythms contrasting with the haunting, forlorn brass in a way that perfectly sums up These New Puritans’ wicked contrariness. ‘Three-Thousand’, meanwhile, might struggle to match the convulsive menace of its recorded counterpart, but ‘Orion’ takes on a whole new life live, its monumental conclusion vicious and visceral, whilst a ramraiding ‘Fire-Power’ sounds like Missy Elliott taking over Last Night Of The Proms.

As ‘Canticle’ comes to a solemn, shaking end and they finish with ‘Infinity Ytinifni’, These New Puritans reveal a band even more malevolently magical than on record. There’s signposts here and there that ‘Hidden’’s live show is still a way off its white-knuckle skyscraping potential – tonight is the first time the band have played live with the woodwind – but it feels like the beginning of something remarkably special. These New Puritans’ beastly rancour could grow into something utterly beautiful indeed.

Niall Doherty