It’s a dreary Wednesday night but there’s a buzz in the heart of East London’s Brick Lane—Ex Libras are about to hit the stage.
It’s been four long years since their debut album Suite(s) impressed music fans across the board. These three boys from Hounslow built their own recording and rehearsal space, lovingly called “The Shed” and this is where they birthed their first few releases as a band. Shortly after Suite(s), EP “Cut(s)” was released and their fan base slowly grew and the press had taken notice.
After this short burst onto the scene, they almost disappeared as quickly as they’d appeared. In the time they’ve taken out, they’ve experimented and moulded their sound, smoothed the edges, and that’s very much evident tonight from the new songs and frontman Amit’s performance.
Every word is a bullet now—Amit emotes this power more than ever before on stage, even during their “older” songs. But let’s stick to the new for a second… “Leap Of Faith” is massive, it feels like the venue is being sonically stretched and pitted against the band’s will. The audience is fully engaged and newer fans seem intrigued. “Woe” is another new track that showcases their strength as a live unit—Ross’ drum beats are tighter than ever, Kieran on the keys gives the track a dreamy depth which marries perfectly with Amit’s powerful vocals.
Much like iconic band Radiohead who have carved out a sound of their own, Ex Libras are of the same mould. No one on the scene right now sounds like this band and they never did. A few older tracks slip into the set and sound stronger than ever and just as good, if not better at times than their latest offerings. It’s when Ex Libras colour outside the lines they really shine and that’s what made Suite(s) a fascinating prospect.
Proving they’re one of the best live bands around, one worthy of much bigger things, their second album Side Step Left will be interesting to say the least. This is just the beginning of the next chapter of the Ex Libras story.
LIVE PHOTOS: JAMES TURNER
