Live Review: Ist Ist at The Deaf Institute

This article is a repost from my old blog sound-a-word.

There I was. Back at The Deaf Institute. It felt like ages since I had been there. But now I was finally back in Manchester. And finally, I could see Ist Ist live.

And what a show it was!

Ist Ist played a terrific set of classics and new songs from their upcoming album ‘The Art of Lying’. It was an extreme sound explosion of their unmistakably Manchester sound.

The latest ‘Extreme Greed’ hit with its expansive rock sound feeling. Dark and powerful, killer bass, and Adam’s distinctive baritone voice. It immediately took us in completely. Even some technical difficulties during the song didn't let them be put off. Instead, they showed all their spontaneity, which caused brief amusement among the band and the audience.

They played a lot of new songs from their forthcoming album ‘The Art of Lying’, and it sounded fantastic. Some great heavy stuff coming our way with the new album. Hard, dark as usual, forceful.

And of course, they played some classics that evening. Like ‘Night’s Arm’ with its powerful and impressive sound. In ‘Discipline’, the synth really came into their own and flooded the entire room. ‘Under Your Skin’ was a real banger with its dark and haunting mood perfectly blended with the powerful bass. The melodic and introspective ‘Black’ ended the main set and left us in a complete frenzy.

That said, of course, an encore wasn’t to be missed. Opened with one of the classic curtain raisers, 'Wolves'. There it was at last. I had already missed it at the beginning of the show. The atmospheric post-punk joy 'You're Mine' gave another real kick, and obviously, they also played 'It Stops Where It Starts'. Then, after a great 90 minutes, the set ended with the powerful 'Slowly We Escape'. The gradual building of the atmosphere that transitions into an insane increase in pace and a powerful instrumental coda. It was absolute ecstasy and the grand finale for a mesmerising show.

Ist Ist gifted us with an epic set of huge sound. They are simply ace, and one of the best bands around with a lot more to come. The show was a great teaser for the new album ‘The Art of Lying’, which will be out on the 26th of November. And I definitely cannot wait for it…

More from Ist Ist can be found on their website. You can follow them on Instagram.