Kalandra

Gorilla, Manchester

20 September 2024

I've been to Gorilla once before, and I didn't really like it. I still don't like it, but I've been waiting a long time to see Kalandra, and this is the best of a set of bad choices of dates on this short UK tour. So, let's get the complaints out of the way first: it's a hot, airless space, with a stage too low to allow good views through a standing crowd, and the crowd, though clearly hugely enjoying the show, is one of the most annoying I've been in.

So I'm not in a great mood for the show, for the reasons given above. But Kalandra's music is irresistably beautiful, possibly even more so live than it is on record, and it's impossible to stay in a bad mood when they begin playing. Everything is perfect. They open with I am from the new album, and I'm actually surprised by how good it sounds. The new album didn't immediately grab me when I first heard it, the way sublime The Line did, but played live the new songs sound just as beautiful as the old ones, with just as much emotional punch.

The sound is loud and powerful but clear and perfectly balanced. All of the dynamics in the music, the quiet melodies as well as the big swells to the battering wall-of-sound climaxes, come across perfectly in the live arrangements. Honestly, they come across better than the album versions, because of the weight of amplification behind the dramatic moments.

They play a 90-minute set of songs drawn from both of their albums, perhaps weighted more towards the first album. The only thing I don't recognise is an instrumental where one guitar player plays a traditional-looking wind instrument that I think is probably a Norwegian bukkehorn. It's a powerful and up-tempo set overall, but if I had to pick one highlight it's perhaps the most delicate song they play tonight, the sublimely beautiful It Gets Easier.

This is apparently the band's first headlining tour, but from their stagecraft you wouldn't realise it. There's not a single mis-step, fluffed cue, or moment of hesitation. Everything is polished to perfection and the setlist flows smoothly. There isn't a lot of talk between songs, but when there is it's warm and friendly, and occasionally humorous ("This next song is in Norwegian, so join in if you want to"). There's not a lot of movement on the stage, but at times one or both guitar players will step up on to a box at dramatically appropriate times, which is much appreciated when sightlines are so bad. The lighting is subdued, but I think that's a deliberate artistic choice. No follow spots, just a wash of cool, blue light, punctuated by dramatic white flashes.

When they play Brave New World, it feels like it ought to be the last song, but surprisingly they hang around and after a moment of confusion they play one more, and maybe this is where their inexperience at headline sets shows, because I have a feeling this was mean to be the encore, and they simply forgot to leave the stage! So there is no actual encore despite the crowd's demands, but that's ok, I think they have played enough, certainly everything I would have wanted, and I don't think anyone could have gone home disappointed.

It's an exceptional band, and just as good live as I was hoping for. I'll be here for their next headlining tour. But hopefully at a better venue.