Birchville Cat Motel @ 13th Note

Sonic terrorism is the best way to describe what Opaque do: four sinisterly masked men, dressed all in black, stand motionless in front of us, their guitars screaming beautiful symphonies of feedback and aural destruction in the darkness, building staggering crescendos of white noise.

Though not quite matching the darkness and violence of Opaque, Alex Neilson and Richard Youngs give an equally ferocious assault on rock's confines. Jandek's original rhythm section perform as a free-rock drums and guitar duo, Neilson's driving percussion melding perfectly with Youngs' e-bowed and distorted guitar work: the highlight coming when they are joined by Birchville Cat Motel's Campbell Kneale on additional guitar.

With a table full of equipment and tangled nests of wires, it's perhaps unsurprising that there are technical complications before New Zealand's Birchville Cat Motel starts weaving his powerful layers of drone. When the difficulties are overcome, he masterfully balances beauty and violence, shrieking almost unheard through distortion over his loops and electronics. The only thing that's missing tonight is the truly transcendental volume of his 2005 Instal performance. [Alex Woodward]