Islet are a band shrouded in such mystery, who do not actively pursue extensive means of promotion or engage in any activity that does not agree with the bands ethos: 'to act in a way that people we admire do, to be true to ourselves, our ideals and beliefs. Which are mainly to enjoy being in a band!'. Considering this, Islet have managed to attract a lot of attention through eccentric live performances and sporadic releases of EPs, earning them a spot at Primevera Sound festival in Barcelona.
Their gig at undertone on Monday was the third I have seen, each with different levels of manic. The first time was the last act of Swn festival and was by far the most manic, with the floor of the Model Inn feeling like it was going to cave and the members of Islet climbing on the speakers and banging their sticks on the roof. The second was at Clwb Ifor Bach and was the least manic as their was a metaphorical barrier between audience and band maybe due to the bigger venue. In response to this, a gig and the gritty, sweaty, cramped setting of Undertone was anticipated to be very manic.
There is no ignoring Islets stage presence: somewhere between fear, respect and intrigue are my feelings as they beat the drum rims in a primeval manner whilst bouncing around the room (How they bounce so high I'm not sure). The band switches instruments when they fancy which shows their free flowing approach to music and it gives the impression that everything happens by chance and luckily, by chance, its bloody good. Sometimes the guy with the handlebar mustache comes bounding into the crowd chanting their tribal song, head banging and knocking peoples drinks all over the place. The crowds reaction to this is interesting, some find it amusing and some are just plain frightened. Unfortunately everyone was too nervous to start bouncing around with Islet and generally going mental, like Islet. It's not the standard of music wasn't good enough, just people we're intimidated by their unusual approach to live music. In terms of the actual performance, it was spectacular and I can't wait to see them again.
