Slift at Elsewhere (photo by Kevin McGann)

 

I discovered the French band Slift during the pandemic, and they quickly became essential listening for me. Lush but heavy, undulating and grinding, Slift takes me to places of the mind I haven’t been before, doing all the things a heavy psych band should do, but with special shimmer in the guitar sounds and electronica, and one of the best rhythm sections I’ve ever encountered. So when I saw that (at last!) they were coming to the United States and playing Elsewhere for their very first NYC show, I was thrilled, and they most certainly did not disappoint.

 

The whole evening of music was great, starting out with Brooklyn rockers, Native Sun. I only caught the second half of their set, but their non-stop shredding sensibility and high energy instantly coaxed me to get closer to the stage; they understand how to put on a good show. On their website, they are described as a trio, but there was a second mystery guitarist up there with the core three, who was almost bouncing off the amps. Bassist Justin Barry often put his foot up on the bass drum, locking eyes with drummer Nico Espinosa as they kept the driving beats coming. (Side note: Espinosa had the largest ride cymbal I’ve ever seen!)  And of course frontman Danny Gomez leapt into the audience during their last song, falling to his knees right in front of me, screaming into the microphone.  All was throughly raucous and satisfying!

 

The second band, You Said Strange, are also French and touring the US with Slift, and it was their first time playing the East Coast. The stage lighting became darker and moodier for their set, which perfectly fit their unique sound, an interesting hybrid of 80s-esque goth and psych, with tight vocal harmonies from brothers Eliot (guitars and vocals) and Martin Carrière (bass and vocals). Definitely the most danceable music of the night, but with songs that stretched out in length and scope, with many layers of guitar distortion and noise. At the end, You Said Strange left the stage one by one, waving good night to the audience, and leaving their guitars still pumping out a flurry of feedback.

 

Last but of course not least, Slift took the stage welcomed loudly by a very enthusiastic audience. I stood up front, firmly focused on studying Rémi Fossat’s prowess on the bass (being a bassist myself), but I noticed that the moshers behind me moved with less violence than the typical pit, slowing down and spacing out when the music did. It was hard to believe that only three musicians were making the sounds coming at us. Slift’s music hit the crowd in big deep waves, with guitarist Jean Fossat (Rémi’s brother) moving back and forth from madly strumming to fiddling with knobs of electronics. Rémi Fossat and drummer Canek Flores were relentless and locked in, at times playing with rhythms and syncopation like free jazz swirling within the wall of sound.

Slift at Elsewhere

The set was made up entirely of tracks from their 2020 album, Ummon, the first five songs reflecting the order they are played in on the album, leading off with the ethereal title track. There was also a seemingly new track in the mix perhaps hinting at new music to come before things picked back up on the album with “Altitude Lake” and the set closing with the triumphant 13 minute album ender “Lions, Tigers and Bears.” The Fossat brothers’ urgent and often times dual vocals soared above the sparkling cacophony throughout, and I think the band and the crowd would’ve loved to have had the show go on far past the 11pm curfew, but alas. Hopefully Slift will be able to return to the U.S. (and NYC!) very soon.

 

Scroll down for setlist, fan shot videos and pics of the show (photos by Kevin McGann)

 

Setlist: Ummon, It’s Coming…, Thousand Helmets of Gold, Citadel on a Satellite, Hyperion, (Unknown/New Song), Altitude Lake, Lions Tigers and Bears

 

NATIVE SUN

 

 

YOU SAID STRANGE

 

 

SLIFT