16. British Sea Power
The Magical X-Factor Atmosphere. British Sea Power tend to play on stages filled with stuffed owls, Eastern European flags and foliage; often with cult films or wildlife documentaries projected on a screen behind them. This is a move to create a certain feel, and it never seems to fail to draw the audience into their very special world. In his dreadful
31 Songs, Nick Hornby implicitly criticises British Sea Power for being a band who, in striving to offer more than just standing onstage and playing their songs, actually come across as shallow and superficial. And yes, there might be a case of accusing British Sea Power as being all smoke and mirrors, but that would be to wilfully ignore the strength of their songs and the impassioned nature of their performances. Anybody who's felt their heart skip a beat as a crowd's immediately whipped into a frenzy by the triumphant opening chords of Remember Me will attest that the most important aspect of any British Sea Power gig is British Sea Power. You could defoliate their stage and they'd still be one of the most stirringly wonderful live bands currently operating in Britain.
15. Sunn 0)))
The Magical X-Factor Volume. And terror. I've not seen Sunn 0))) myself, but based on the tales I've heard, if I go to the grave without correcting that fact - even should I somehow stumble upon a cure for the common cold - my life will have been wasted. Sunn 0))) play on dark stages in dark venues lit only by candles. Their vocalist dresses as a tree, and the two guitarists are faceless in their shadowy cowls. Using a foreboding array of powerful amps, they play sludgy dirges at 0bpm at such volumes that you can
feel the sound as it reverberates in the air around you. For many, Sunn 0))) might come across as pretentious or worthy of ridicule. Apart from anything else, a night spent exposing yourself to dangerous volumes might not be everybody's idea of a good time. But those who rave speak of an emotionally draining visceral experience in which you leave feeling mentally and spiritually cleansed. And whilst that doesn't exactly sound like much fun, neither does it sound like the sort of experience to be missed.