We Lost the Sea/Overhead, the Albatross/Dimscûa – Academy 2, Manchester – 24/05/26 (Live Review)

Brought to us by the excellent 2 Promoters, 1 Pod podcast, tonight’s show promises to be something special. All three bands are exemplary in their own way, and all three are unmissable in their own right.

Dimscûa

The meteoric rise of Dimscûa is well-deserved. Thrust into the spotlight by the passionate support of 2 Promoters, 1 Pod, the band’s excellent debut Dust Eater more than deserves the support it has received. After flooring everyone at last year’s Damnation Festival, it’s time for the Academy 2 to witness the band’s anguished post-metal mastery.

People have rightfully shown up early for Dimscûa, and the band don’t disappoint, despite some initial sound gremlins. Theirs is a set of howling pain, harrowing atmospheres, and emotion-drenched heaviness.

The light show works well with the music, the band have an natural presence on stage, and the performance holds the crowd entranced. They don’t say too much, preferring instead to mostly let the music do the talking, and that seems to be fine with everyone in attendance.

All of Dust Eater gets an outing, and hearing the tracks in the live setting is a treat. Closing with the gut-wrenching On Being and Nothingness, Dimscûa drown the rapt crowd in sorrow and bleak darkness. Despite this, or probably because it, they leave the stage to an appreciation fit for conquering heroes.

Overhead, the Albatross

Like Dimscûa, Overhead, the Albatross wowed crowds on the main stage at last year’s Damnation, so expectations are high for their performance tonight. Also like Dimscûa, they don’t disappoint.

After an understated entrance, they launch into their idiosyncratic, creative, and very contemporary take on hybrid electronic post-rock, and it’s immediately apparent why so many are falling under their spell.

Multifaceted and marvellous, the band have a strong sound to back up their electronically enriched tunes. They also benefit from good use of the projection backdrop, despite its small size. The band members are visibly invested in what they’re doing, which fuels their performance. It’s a captivating show, full of such a variety of sounds and musical textures that you would expect it to come across as disjointed, but it never does. It’s part rave, part prog rock odyssey.

They close with the emotionally charged Paul Lynch, accompanied by a heartfelt speech from one of the band members. It’s a stunning way to end a set. The anthemic clean singing is a genuinely moving experience.

Once again, Overhead, the Albatross have shown themselves to be a formidable live act.

We Lost the Sea

And now for the main event. Hot off the success of last year’s brilliant record A Single Flower, (which just keeps getting better and better over time, by the way), We Lost the Sea are in a prime position to end up dominating the world of post-rock.

It starts with a sample of The Eve of the War from War of the Worlds, which then morphs into something altogether darker and more menacing in tone. As intros go, it’s a bit too long, but it’s hard to complain too much; We Lost the Sea open up with If They Had Hearts, and it’s all worth it. The sound is crystal clear, and it’s immediately absorbing. A Dance with Death follows, which is just as flawless. The band have presence, delivery, and songs. It’s heavily immersive, and frequently just plain heavy.

The songs are highly accurate renderings of their album counterparts, yet also come alive in a way that’s specific to the live environment. The band put their all into it, and it comes across in the music, imbuing the songs with increased atmospheric reach and a new layer of energy. The crowd lap it up. Not a single word is spoken throughout, (until the very end), as none are needed.

Everything Here Is Black and Blinding sounds extra progressive and sinister, with a pulsing bass-heavy malevolence that’s less felt on record. The band go wild during the end of it. A Beautiful Collapse follows, which is impactful in a different way to the material from A Single Flower. The band’s biggest song is next – A Gallant Gentleman.  This, while important in its own right, serves its purpose as a poignant prelude to the stunning Bogatyri. Slow-burning and deeply charismatic, We Lost the Sea cement their live capabilities across this song with envious ease. It’s maddeningly good.

Speaking of their considerable capabilities, these are really put to the test by the final song of the evening, the massive Blood Will Have Blood. What a song. Before this starts though, the band disappear after Bogatyri and the utterly beautiful The Gloaming plays, allowing them to have a hard-earned rest. Then, it begins. A near-30-minute colossal emotive epic. It’s an excellent song delivered by a band at the height of their powers. Not a moment is wasted. It’s a mesmerising, full-on experience, one to lose yourself in completely. By the end of it both band and crowd are completely done, there’s nothing left at all. Not a drop of emotion remains.

But wait, there’s unexpectedly more. The singer of Hidden Mothers arrives on stage as the band rip into the crushing Balaklava Cold from their debut album Crimea. It’s a 2-minute rager that you’d think wouldn’t work after what came before, but it does. It’s a complete change of pace, a palate cleanser of sorts, and ends the show with a punch to the face.

A fantastic night for all concerned. A life affirming experience.

We Lost the Sea put on a show worthy of the headliners that they are, and  they deserve to get even bigger than they have already become.