Review: Beak> @ SWX

By Caspian Taylor, Fourth Year Maths

After over fifteen years since the formation of the band and subsequent touring, former Portishead creative and local Geoff Barrow announced he was parting ways with Beak> in late September this year, citing a dodgy ankle and a shift in focus to a feature film, as well as future solo projects, as the reason for his departure.

Luckily, the final leg of the tour was hosted in none other than his hometown of Bristol, and a grim, grey December night seemed foretelling of not just his exit from the band but also of the intensity and morose mood of their music, a craft spearheaded by Barrow that incorporates elements of ‘Autobahn’ by Kraftwerk and the trip-hop beats and basslines of Portishead and Massive Attack.

With a minimalist set design consisting of nothing but the band and a very bright, shapeshifting and colour-changing Beak> logo in the background, things kicked off pretty early, with Barrow and Fuller chuckling at how there was a disco after their set so they had to get a move on.

Immediately Beak>’s presence live is palatable, with deep basslines and pained vocals washing over heavy trip hop drum beats, a cathartic and hypnotising experience.

The depth of emotion and darkness was entrancing, with electronic elements from the reverb and synths providing rhythm and an unconventionally danceable tempo at times.

The gravitas behind their music was contrasted with the chats that we got to experience at the interlude of each song providing great entertainment, whether it took the form of deriding the ‘Poundland Aquaman’ on the decks and backup guitar, as quoted by Barrow, or ironically calling out his fans for the crowd looking like a ‘boiled egg convention’, and joking that half the people at the concert had free tickets because they were on the guest litst.

The band seemed comfortable, confident in what they have achieved as a group and glad to be home, giving wit and humour back to their fans (while also digging at them).

They also seemed a few pints down and in a celebratory yet maybe slightly melancholic mood, exacerbated by the fact that Geoff Barrow had to leave halfway through as he 'needed a piss’.

As Beak> comes to an end, we can look back at what the band have provided to the rich landscape of music in Bristol; this is a frantic, emotionally intelligent crossover between trip-hop and krautrock that certainly isn’t easy or light listening, but invites you to get stuck into the repetition of the bass and offbeat drums, and this involvement was mutual at their final get together on a cold December in Bristol.

It was a characterful night, displaying fine musical talent and creativity if you engaged with and were willing to allow yourself to be absorbed in their melancholic, abstract style; an impressive end of an era for another of Bristol’s home-bred talent.