GIG REVIEW: Solstafir, The Institute, Birmingham, July 31st

Headliner: Solstafir
Date: July 31st
Venue: The Institute, Birmingham
Supports: Dialects, Silverface
Rating: 8/10

The crowd at the Institute to see Solstafir is an intimate, but appreciative one. Solstafir are fresh off the back of a set at the inaugural Ramblin' Man Fair down in Maidstone, where they shared a bill with the likes of Alcest, Riverside, and Blues Pills, among others. Tonight, however, they're bringing Dialects and Silverface with them.

First up are Silverface. This young, local quartet have a sound pitched somewhere in between Explosions in the Sky, Pelican and Maybeshewill, with plenty of lush soundscapes, builds in the songs in the right places, and an excellent ear for perfect sonic nuance. There's little crowd interaction, but the foursome are firmly in the zone as they give it everything, including the use of a violin bow on guitar that would make Jimmy Page proud.

Glasgow's Dialects, however, prefer an approach that is just as focused, but more musically chaotic, drawing instead from the likes of Miava and Russian Circles, Despite a relatively short set, the band's coherence and enthusiasm go down well with the appreciative crowd, double tapping and all.

Then, finally, Solstafir arrive on the stage. In spite of the fact that their set is littered with minor technical niggles, the Icelanders rip through material primarily taken from their past two albums with the same enthusiastic approach as their openers, and again, it's well received, with Adalbjörn Tryggvason's impassioned vocals sitting comfortably atop a mountain of monolithic guitar riffs and thunderous drumming. If another opportunity to catch them in a live setting arises, then do not miss it.