Bismuth at Home Club

In August this year, alternative band Bismuth was one of ten local acts who performed at Baybeats for the very first time. Organised by the Esplanade, Baybeats is Southeast Asia’s largest indie music festival. Barely a month later, Bismuth delivered a technically impressive set at Home Club.

Drummer Chris was the first to speak, introducing opening song “The Sting” as an original composition that was requested for at Baybeats. The soft rock number had an accessible melody, while Flint, the band’s unassuming guitarist and vocalist, sang in a relaxed manner. Backup vocals came courtesy of bassist Stev.e, who was a strong stage presence thanks to his long fringe and eye-catching movements.

Second song “The Boy That Celebrates Himself” started off slow, but took on a grittier tone when distortion effects kicked in during the chorus. Eschewing inter-song banter typical of most bands, Bismuth then launched into a hard-hitting track titled “Shapeless Creatures”. The hypnotic tune saw Stev.e hogging the limelight by executing a star jump at one point and playing his bass guitar with his back arched and legs spread wide apart.

The audience saved the loudest cheers for “Hospital Drive”, which was a breath-taking number that perfectly showcased the band’s penchant for experimental shoegazing. But this reviewer’s favorite song of the night was the poignantly named “Life Is A Slow Death”. Starting off with a drum machine that provided lush sound effects, the long track had a spell-binding verse with spacey sounds, but a rousing Nirvana-like chorus.

Bismuth ended their set with the melancholic “Soldier Bee”, proving that a three-piece band with the right amount of talent and technical wizardry can compose and perform songs that are by no means inferior to those by larger bands.

For more information, visit http://www.myspace.com/bismuthsg