Call to Mind @ Nice 'N' Sleazy

Call to Mind are the very antithesis of current music culture. They are devoid of the over-styled, fuck-you arrogance and sassy, sexed-up swagger which defines so many of today's legions. Rather, their sound smoulders with the narcotic burn of a classic age, drawing heavily on the brooding, progressive sound of the Floyd - of men losing themselves in the midst of their music. So tonight was never going to be about the good times, but rather an opportunity to witness some serious sounds, which, from the halcyon spin of Energy and Blast to the epic exaltations of Hole in the Heart, they squarely deliver. Sonically virulent, ambitious, at times levelling, Call to Mind are the bastion of a band with a single-minded vision. The only catch is that, every now and again, what begins with awe and wonder ends with gasping relief as we emerge from the drowning current of their indulgent conviction. [Paul Neeson]