THE LUNAR EFFECT / CIRCUS CANNON / COSMOTHS

Gig Date: Fri 26th April 2024
Venue: The Black Heart

The Lunar Effect have been firm favourites of Metal Brew since we first discovered them, shortly before the release of their stellar retro-doomy debut ‘The Calm Before the Calm’. Having sampled the recently released sophomore, there was no hesitation in attending the album release show. Especially with two glorious choices for support acts, this was bound to be an evening of grand proportions.

“…along with some space-rock weirdness to boot.”

First band was Cosmoths, who played one of their first shows ever at Metal Brew some moons ago. Since then, they have honed their sound, tightened their playing and established an additional member to handle vocals. And handle vocals he most certainly does. Erik is a formidable singer, happy delivering soulful croons before belting forth a gruff, bluesy bellow. His voice resides comfortably in the Cosmoths sound, which is an undefinable genre-orgy of classic rock, funk, stoner-doom and punked-up anger. It is a sound that is both perplexingly familiar and pleasantly distinctive. The band deliver a storming set which is embraced by the crowd, promising great things for their return to Metal Brew in July.

Circus Cannon followed, and I’d heard that their style was psychedelic rock and that they have got increasingly heavy in their time. Having little point of reference, my preconceptions of a band in the vein of 13th Floor Elevators was immediately dispelled as a rumbling chord came booming forth. Certainly psychedelic – even making my sober mind see colours that weren’t there – Circus Cannon deliver a mix of heavy-psych with a doomy weight, perhaps along with some space-rock weirdness to boot. The trippy, affected vocals complemented their fuzzy, heavy jams, which were filled with guitar solos, noises and rippling drum flourishes. Another strong support, the crowd delighted in getting lost in Circus Cannon’s powerful force of sound.

Which left The Lunar Effect. Despite a mostly mellow sound, the band are understandably full of energy and excited to be celebrating ‘The Sound of Green and Blue’. The band ran through all the new songs, interspersing them with classic tracks from their debut. The new album is perhaps slightly less heavy, but is more varied, and the songs still have plenty of weight. The whole set was a delight without a dip along the way, and the new tracks easily carried their own. Ocean Queen is classic Lunar Effect; In Grey’s Graveyard-like tones became even more pronounced live; and the inclusion of keys in the live set allowed ‘The Fear before the Fall’ and ‘The Midde of the End’ to really have their moment. Combined with ‘Call it In’ and the title track from the debut (among others) shining forth, we were essentially given a perfect Lunar Effect set. The Lunar Effect are a class act. They have that retro soul but keep the sound invigorated with sincerity and skill, all topped off with Josh Gosling’s awe-inspiring voice.

A top-quality night of three great bands. If you get the chance to see any of them in the future, take the opportunity with both hands – the night will surely end on a high.

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