Photo Credit: @trust_a_fox
Manchester post-punk/alternative-rock band IST IST made their return to Glasgow to showcase songs from their fifth album Dagger that was released in February. They were performing at Oran Mor, an old church that sits at the top of Byres Road in the west end of Glasgow, a venue the band played just in November there and one that we were sad to have missed out on so we were really looking forward to finally hearing these new songs played live.
The UK support for the tour is The Youth Play who are already on the stage when we arrive at 7.30pm, Mexican-born vocalist Diego Bracho catches the eye immediately with his stage presence. The band play a mix of shoegaze, indie-rock and post-punk and we were impressed by what we heard on the way over on the subway. It is our first time seeing them live and they seemed to have the perfect blend of music for an IST IST crowd. We missed the first two tracks of the set but from what we did see A Fair Life and After A Moment were the standout songs for us. 7/10
The latest IST IST album Dagger has seen the band add a lot more dance elements into the music as we described in our review of the album back in February. Keyboard maestro & guitarist Mat Peters seems to have been given free-reign on this album as we soon find out with opening track Encouragement, we couldn’t have wished for a better song to start the night, it’s a personal favourite from Dagger. You will always find a wee group of enthusiastic fans at an IST IST show and tonight is no different, the biggest surprise for us is that the show is not sold out, IST IST deserve so much more support. The first three songs are from the latest album and Warning Signs is played perfectly prompting the first chorus singalong of the night, the three guys at the front – Adam Houghton (vocals & guitar), Mat Peters (keyboards & guitar), Andy Keating (bass) – have the sunglasses on looking the part while Joel Kay at the back of the stage on drums is excellent as usual.
We knew we were in for a decent setlist tonight by the early start at 8.15pm that allowed the band to play twenty-two songs during a set that was just short of ninety minutes with eight of those coming from the Dagger album, just two short of the full ten on the record. Sadly Obligations and Song For Someone were the ones we didn’t get to hear, both very deep tracks in their own rights. Anyway getting back to what they did play, Lost My Shadow was next up, a real crowd pleaser and an easy chorus for everyone to join in with. We still have memories of bouncing around to this one at Sound City and Kendal Calling last summer and that made us ask the question: When did we first see IST IST live? The answer to that question was 13th April 2023, just over three years to the day at the famous King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut when they were touring the Protagonists album. Lost My Shadow is followed by another from 2024’s Light A Bigger Fire album with The Kiss being the song before returning to Dagger once again; The Echo and Makes No Difference are both played to perfection tonight, that’s the thing about IST IST they put on one hell of a show and always to a high standard of musical abilities, watching Mat Peters is jaw dropping at times in how he can move so easily from guitar to keyboards and back in a split second, a true master indeed!
The synth-led Mary In The Black & White Room has the whole crowd down the front dancing along enthusiastically with Fat Cats Drown In Milk and Repercussions doing pretty much the same. The Oran Mor seems the perfect setting for this tour, the acoustics never let you down in this old church. I Remember Everything is a track we have been looking forward to hearing live for the first time and the band didn’t let us down with this one, Andy Keating on bass is on the side of the stage where we are standing and it is great to watch him at work. Ambition is also worth a mention as we wind up the main set. Hope To Love Again opens with the lyrics “you were told explicitly to keep the fuck away from me” from Adam Houghton, this is one of the best of the set tonight. The goosebumps are out during the keyboard segments of the song, if you closed your eyes you could find yourself at a New Order show for a moment, that’s another thing about the music of IST IST, it takes you to some surprising places musically. There is an element of darkness in the music that keeps you connected and in the moment.
I Am The Fear has opened the set for a number of shows on this tour but tonight it is the first of two in the encore and is appreciated all around. Whilst Stamp You Out is the perfect end to a marathon set that obviously focused more on the Dagger album but still managed to pull out five from Light A Bigger Fire and three from Architecture and Protagonists. We reckon The Garage would be the perfect setting for the next Glasgow show from IST IST, the fanbase should have grown a lot before then too. 9/10
Written by:, Alan Brown
