Black Doldrums @ MOTH Club, Hackney, London 01.11.24

Taking to the gold curtained stage tooled up with excellent new album In Limerance, gothic post-punk diviners Black Doldrums greet their public at Hackney’s marvellous MOTH Club. Notices stating that children should be off the dancefloor by 9:30pm and that no smoking is permitted there either, by order of the committee, underlines the venues origins – and continuing status – as a working men’s club.

The insectoid guitar line of Hideaway kicks off the set under the gold ceiling, followed by a booming rendition of Sad Paradise. The juxtaposition of new tracks, Tarantula’s compelling gloom followed by the upbeat jangle of New Moon is a smart move, showcasing the breadth of the band’s material.

A triple hit of new album’s gems, the jagged guitar figures of Painting Smiles, the sunshine pop of Summer Breeze and Dying For You's lovelorn Cure-isms played in consecutive fashion supply the summit of the evening. Constructed around drummer Sophie Landers’ thudding Killing Joke rhythmic pattern and bassist Daniel Armstrong’s Kim Deal style foundation lines, In Silence booms along in stentorian style. While the trio are resolutely well-drilled throughout, lead singer Kev Gibbard’s voice ought to be pushed higher given the strength of the new material’s vocal melodies.

As the guys in A Place to Bury Strangers T-shirts at the front indicate, when the ‘Doldrums venture into psych territory, they’re airdropped into the most mountainous terrain. The low-slung almost country sounding riffage of Those With A Rope Around Their Neck (Don’t Always Hang) is succeeded by a maximalist version of Mae’s Desire, as present day Hackney is swapped for Roaring Twenties, as the group pay homage to The Tiger Woman of Canning Town, model and muse Betty May Golding.

A commanding demonstration of Black Doldrum's twilit goth pop, the set dissolves in a hail of shoegazing noise, as a lengthy queue quickly assembles at the merch table for the band's wares as the lights go up.