Caught Live: Bear In Heaven + Halves @ Crawdaddy, Dublin

Bear In Heaven may be coming to town sporting a Stereo-Fork seal of approval, but tonight the New Yorkers are given a serious run for their money by Dublin-based support band Halves. The latter’s hypnotic, spine-tingling music occupies a middle ground somewhere between the haunting ambience of Hunter-Gatherer and Mogwai's sprawling post-rock soundscapes. It’s not often you can say this about a support act, but they genuinely stun the Crawdaddy crowd into almost complete silence. Ending with a feedback-drenched climax, it leaves Ragged Words anticipating their upcoming debut album even more than we thought we were.
 
So, gauntlet thrown down, the impressively-moustachioed Bear In Heaven take to the stage. The Brooklyn trio deal in swirling, rhythmic psych-rock, and their pulsating sound certainly translates well live. In particular, it quickly becomes clear how vital drummer Joe Stickney is to the group’s overall dynamic; tonight he’s an absolute powerhouse, laying down dazzling fills and driving everything along throughout. The insistent, slow-building ‘Beast In Peace’ and the imposing sonic sweep of ‘Ultimate Satisfaction’ are early highlights, with the volume levels just right: perfect for immersion, but never deafening.
 
“Let’s do this!” is the precursor to a knockout rendition of live calling card ‘Lovesick Teenagers’, whose cyclical, Kraftwerk-like synths reverberate around the venue; it’s such a definitive number, in fact, that it’s later reprised at the end of the similar-sounding ‘Casual Goodbye’. There’s also room for a cover of Lindstrøm & Christabelle’s ‘Lovesick’, with the sensual Italo groove of the original making way for a pulsing psych-pop rave-up. Extremely impressive musicians, Bear In Heaven go down a treat tonight, and it hopefully won’t be too long before they return to these shores.