Recently I haven't listened to a great deal of post-rock, it all started to sound boring, depressing and monotonous; Explosions In The Sky were starting to repeat themselves and Godspeed have pretty much collapsed as an entity. How refreshing, then, to find a post-rock band that doesn't preoccupy itself with playing the same dull guitar riff over and over again until the end of time - step forward, Sona Di.Last night I was privy to a spleen-blowing gig at the Head Of Steam up here in sunny Newcastle, Sona Di were the opening act but nothing separated any of three bands. What made it an exceptional gig was the way in which every act complemented each other perfectly.
What sets them apart from, say, Explosions In The Sky is the passion in their performance and the fusion of other styles like drone and noise into a style of post-rock that peaks and falls with far more tension than their contemporaries.
I do like Explosions In The Sky but their performance when I saw them at the Sage was turgid, with very little progression. Sona Di, on the other hand, seemed to have planned their set perfectly, climaxing as it did with the literal disintegration of the stage.
As their set reached its zenith, so did their exertion: Angus Mason, the drummer, beat that drumkit so hard it shook throughout and collapsed right at the end as their driving beat crescendoed; Daniel Irving, the guitarist, rose from his seat at the same point and played with such ferocity that he too nearly collapsed. That with the intensity of Michael Marwood's vocals made for a truly impassioned performance.
Now look down for some (two) Sona Di goodies: a video of the performing live at The Musical Restaurant last year plus a free mp3 of my personal favourite Sona Di tune to indulge yourself in. Enjoy!
Download: Sona Di - Forest
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