The Mantra Above The Spotless Melt Moon
Dublin Castle, London
02/06/2010

First on at the Dublin Castle on a Wednesday night is hardly a by-word for quality. Chances are, the best band won’t be on first. Fortunately for the eight people who are actually here, The Mantra Above The Spotless Melt Moon aren’t into clichés. For starters, they’re from Naples, and we can’t remember there being any Italian indie bands, well, ever. Not searing post-rock ones, anyway. And definitely not ones with a name that sounds like it was lifted from the trippier end of an S.T. Coleridge poem.
Despite the omens not being good, once they get going The Mantra do flirt with moments of impressive grandure; the moody, ethereal sheen of ‘Septembers’, and agitated drum-stutter of set closer ‘Mangrove’ in particular.
As it is, tonight’s shortcomings aren’t really their fault; music like theirs needs poise, atmosphere. Instead, their post-rock landscapes feel more like they’re being viewed through a keyhole than in the full glory of widescreen.
Still, they’re a hell of a lot more interesting than most midweek Camden dross…

JJ Dunning