We’d been hankering to see SOHN for a while, ever since I’d played his first album, Tremors, almost to death last summer. So when his second album, Rennen, was released earlier this year it meant an album tour was sure to follow.
So last week Katie and I braved a journey on Southern Rail up to the old Fridge Club (now The Electric) in Brixton: A club slightly too small to accommodate a sold-out SOHN crowed. Katie and I tucked ourselves in neatly at the back.
The smoke machines belched with great gusto as SOHN took the stage. Seated behind a huge synth, he immediately launched into Tremmors, his powerful, pitch-perfect voice silencing even the most persistent talker.
He seemed to delight in giving each song some kind of embellishment: Whether that be an extended middle-eight or noodling around at the end, it was there in every song. It was mesmerising. I love live music, mainly for the sense of shared-experience. Everyone was swept along on the wave of SOHN’s synths, it put me in mind of a shared religious experience, everyone in enraptured ensemble.
I was also massively impressed by the beautiful set design: An arrangement of parallel strip-lights that changed colour and pulsed on and off in step with the music. They were the perfect focal point as SOHN plied his wares on stage.
Since a small person came to live in our house, our opportunity for evenings out has been severely limited. It’s a rare thing when the stars align to allow us to have a night away from home without Roo, so we have to get it right when we do. We defiantly got it right with SOHN. 10/10.