Pure Reason Revolution - Academy 3 - 27.7.05

Pure Reason Revolution were one of the stand out highlights of last years In The City showcases and just under a year on they're finally getting the recognition they deserve. It's harder to imagine a band more suited to PRR than Mew, maybe Porcupine Tree with their epic prog rock stylings or The Mars Volta with their unlistenable meanderings, but with Mew there's the glamour and the contemporary sheen which is shared by the quintet.

A clusterf**k of sound that impossible to unravel, they take 3 minute pop songs, tear them apart and stretch them into epic opus' that twelve minutes later you still want more. It would be all too easy to label them a prog rock band, but they're so much more than a trip in nostalgia. Ok, there songs go on longer than most bands debut album and there's a hint of Floyd in there, but there's also gorgeous Beach Boy harmonies, ambient vibes from The Orb and a pomp rock dynamic which outstrips Muse.

The centrepiece of tonight's set is recent single, "The Bright Ambassadors Of Morning", a glorious journey of a song which builds up a soundbase of Gregorian Chants till the crescendo of Led Zep style riffs. Pure Reason Revolution are the sort of band that inspire obsessive devotion where every single aspect is devoured. The simple truth is that only the band really know which direction they're heading in and the moment you try to work them out they'll book convention and take a different route.

Alex McCann

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