Cahill // Costello / The Exchange / Bristol
A trip to Bristol and a chance to go to one of my favourite venues, The Exchange on Old Market Street. On tonight are Cahill // Costello supported by Maebe and Essential Formulas. I’d not heard of any of the bands, so was looking forward to a surprise !
And boy….. what a surprise I was in store for !
So first up on stage are Essential Formulas. Formed only a couple of years ago they delivered a stunning set. A mix of influences and styles they sit at a cross roads between prog, noise, and rock. The prog tones are embellished with a heavy doom metal influence and something special… pace. Doom is usually a melancholic slow form, but some of the tracks have a real rock pace to them, but what this does is embellish the doom sound further, creating increased depth and levels of noise.
There are no vocals, except for some electronic vocal elements added in which adds to the gritty and edgy feel to the soundscape the produce.
The last track is their 2024 single Martinaise Shuffle which has a delicious eastern influence to its sound.
Essential Formulas delivered a great opening set, setting the scene perfectly, weaving catchy riffs, switching time signatures and droning atmospherics into an elegent and captivating instrumental performance.
Setlist
Roving Kindness Machine (Unreleased)
Old Orchard (Unreleased)
Cumulonimbusaur (Unreleased)
Martinaise Shuffle (Single 2024)
Next up, we have Bristol natives Maebe, once again an instrumental band, who deliver a technically skillful prog rock / ambient set. Where Essential Formulas had that darker doom edge, Maebe had a more rock feel to the set, with ferocious post-hardcore energy, embodied by guitarist Michael Astley-Brown, who reminded me of October Drift’s Kiran Roy with his crisp Fender Strat tones and heavy breaks accompanied by some energetic, and frenetic strumming.
The result is a devastating liver performance, blending post-rock, the wonky riffs of math rock and some great guitar shredding a la Satriani. But running through it is a great melody which gives it a striking and unique sound.
During Harsh Realm, Patricks bass loses a string, and goes on a frantic search for a replacement, and when one can’t be found, Essential Formulas come to the rescue with a fresh bass. The band carry on without and make a big joke of it afterwards, but they handle the situation brilliantly.
There’s something in the sound for everyone, technically brilliant, they deliver a great set and the crowd loved it.
Setlist
Crossing theI’s, Dotting the T’s (Maebe 2020)
5o Words (Rebirth. Relive. Repeat. – 2023)
You Are the Host Now (Rebirth. Relive. Repeat. – 2023)
Harsh Realm (Rebirth. Relive. Repeat. – 2023)
Rebirth. Relive. Repeat. (Rebirth. Relive. Repeat. – 2023)
And finally it’s time for Cahill // Costello who are Kevin Cahill (guitar) and Graham Costello (drums). Graham and Kevin met whilst studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland back in 2012, and although they studied different disciplines (jazz & classical) they shared a mutual passion for minimalism and improvisation.
Their friendship and shared passion ultimately led to Graham and Kevin collaborating together on a number of different solo projects before forming Cahill//Costello. In 2021 they released their debut album “Offworld”. This year has seen the release of their second album “Cahill // Costello II”, both on Gearbox Records.
Kevin and Graham head onto the stage and set up their equipment in possibly the most one sided activity I’ve seen on stage ! Kev plugs in his effects board and guitar, tunes it and sits back for a drink of water, while Graham, painstakingly sets up the drum kit, with a plethora of cymbals, wooden blocks, cowbells, putting into place cloths to dampen the cymbals.
Finally they’re ready, and with a thumbs up to the sound engineer, the lights dim, the projector fires up and we’re off. The lighting is minimal, with the projector shining through the band onto the back wall, serene scenes of lochs and the sea, creating unusual patterns over the artists.
As well as guitar, Kev also operates a looper and cassette deck, these elements of the setup adding depth to their overall sound.
Cahill // Costello perform by following the conceptual idea of everything happening strictly within the moment. The result is a wonderful ambient, dreamy and trancelike soundscape that drifts over the audience. The loops and Graham’s complex and fast rhythmic constructions are at the heart of the sound. Both highly skilled musicians, Graham’s drumming is particularly impressive with a wide range of styles and sounds. Sometimes earthy and organic, sometimes world music showing an eastern influence and also as in Ae/Fx, an almost military snare beat. Stunning stuff. Kevin, often on the floor seems almost serene as he controls and manipulates the loops and tone adjusting the pedals.
But this isn’t just subtle light ambient bliss, parts of the performance deliver the heaviness, and in bucketloads. It’s not Sunn O))) levels of volume, but there’s a heaviness to match !
I have to say, it is a simply stunning, and emotional performance, which like ocean waves, drifts over the audience who soak up the emotions. Soft and delicate, but also harsh and heavy, it blends the two perfectly.
I have to say, I walked out in to the cold December Bristol air and reflected on what I had just experienced. I think we all too often think of great gigs as being big name acts with impressive stage sets in big arenas, but tonight was a perfect example, of why getting out to grass roots venues and seeing up and coming bands is so important. Cahill // Costello were stunning, so much so I’ve been online and ordered copies of both their albums this weekend. But both Maebe and Essential Formulas were incredible too. If you want to experience a great gig and a performance to remember, I can’t recommend Cahill // Costello enough.
Setlist
Tyrannus (Cahill//Costello II - 2024)
Ae//Fx (Cahill//Costello II - 2024)
Offworld (Offworld – 2021)
Sunbeat (Cahill//Costello II - 2024)
JNGL (Cahill//Costello II - 2024)
Pylons (Offworld – 2021)
Watch out for a show near you in 2025, you won’t be disappointed. In the meantime you can find more from all three on your favourite streaming service, or buy their music on bandcamp here:
Bandcamp Links
