Shores Of Null

Pumpehuset, Copenhagen - 2023

Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen

Despite Shores Of Null celebrating ten years as a band this year, and having four full length albums as well as a live album on their conscience, they were not a band I had heard of before being announced as the support for Swallow The Sun’s tour that would bring them to Copenhagen.
Well, that was about to be remedied.

“It’s good to be back, it’s gonna be a good, good night!”
- Davide Straccione (vocals)


So, apparently even though I was new to Shores Of Null, Shores Of Null was not new to Denmark. Apparently they visited the Dark Mental Festival back in 2014, which must have been in conjunction with the release of their debut album, Quiescence. I don’t know how many others here tonight knew the band from earlier, or even from back then, but I can say that the room was well filled from the start. The gig was nearly sold out, and I think pretty much everyone was in from the start, which of course is good to see.
Quiescence may have been new back then, but this time around, The Loss Of Beauty was nearly fresh off the presses, having been released less than two weeks before this concert, and it was from this album that the body of the setlist was taken, with no less than five of the seven tracks long setlist coming from it.

The intro was a bit surprising, as it sounded just like the opening of the song, and the band was already on stage and ready, so I’m not sure why they didn’t just play this themselves?
Regardless, despite the vocals being a bit low and muddy in the beginning, I have to praise the sound of this show - I could recognise every instrument, and after that initial issue, the vocal harmonies (of which there were many, mainly delivered by guitarists Gabriele Giaccari and Raffaele Colace) were clear and distinct. I mention this both because it of course is a treat with a live gig with good sound, but also because this band in particular makes use of so many harmonies, it could easily become a disaster if the sound wasn’t up to scratch.

The performance was another deal. Fair enough, this was the small stage of Pumpehuset, and the band literally didn’t have much room to move about, but it sure felt very much purged for energy. Straccione moved his arms about a bit while singing, and the others bobbed their heads from time to time, but there just wasn’t much visually to grab onto, sadly.
As a plus, Straccione always had something to say between songs. Mostly thank you, and presenting the next song, but sometimes that’s enough, and it gave a better feeling of presence from them.

I liked how they kicked the energy up a notch when ending their set with My Darkest Years, a faster and fiercer song than any played so far, and in general I felt that Shores Of Null delivered a pleasant enough opening for the night. Now having gotten to know the band, it might not be something I’ll jump right back into, but I enjoyed what they did here.

Setlist:

Destination Woe
Nothing Left To Burn
Quiescent
The Last Flower
Black Drapes For Tomorrow
Darkness Won’t Take Me
My Darkest Years

Shores Of Null

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