Shield Patterns @ The Castle, Manchester, 9 Feb

Forget what you know about Shield Patterns: this time round, it doesn’t apply. All that industrial hiss, that processed disorienting fug, that cinematic enormity – what happens when all that’s stripped away? If you’ve listened to last year’s remarkable Mirror Breathing opus (and you bloody well should; not for nothing did we give it a full complement of stars upon its release), you might think you’ve got the Manchester duo all figured out for ethereally heartbreaking avant-pop, with electronic textures layering mystery upon beauty without distorting the sense of space. On this tour, however, they’ve stripped it all down. Rearranged it. Reconfigured your understanding of what they can be. The results, happily, are quite marvellous.

While Claire Brentall’s voice often forms the focus of the band, this new set-up pushes her contribution even further to the fore, leaving her to whisper and soar as though cut adrift from the clouds of noise that normally occupy their sound. Instead, Richard Knox abandons the mist in favour of sparse beats and deftly-deployed guitar drones; less haunting, more human. Old favourite Dust Hung Heavy is particularly remarkable, with its instrumental motif providing a gentle counterpoint to the emotional weight of the vocal melody – a showstopping moment.

Whether this new set-up (at times recalling the recent work of Julia Holter) will provide a launchpad for new adventures on album number three, only time will tell. In the meantime, it’s a privilege to hear a band so intent on pushing themselves that even their existing material can still be regarded as a work in progress. Let Shield Patterns into your life. You will surely not regret it.