Live Review : A.A. Williams + Zetra @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester on May 22nd 2023

Things tonight are not what they seem. A.A. Williams is deconstructed metal. All the pieces are there, just not in the configuration we expect. Support Zetra look like Mayhem if they went a little crazy in the B&Q chains and locks aisle, however they sound like the Human League. They seem to have escaped from the faux eighties. That non-existence facade of a decade that only actually exists in the fevered creative mind of showrunners. If Dustin and Suzie had formed a band in Stranger Things, it would have looked and sounded like Zetra. Its all very discombobulating. My eyes see one thing and my ears hear another and my poor brain cannot discern the connection between the two. However, if you close your eyes and purge the Whitby goth weekend on the cheap imagery there is something quite magical going on here.

There is a heaviness at play, but just not where we are used to it. Adam’s guitar is so low in the mix it is practically subterranean. It rumbles away like an aggravated Tectonic plate or a particularly nasty bout of toothache. Everything above it is calm and beautiful, but its coarse corrosiveness is there just on the verge of hearing. It provides an uneven and jagged foundation for the rest of their music. Everything else feels uneasy and unsettled, no matter how lilted or elegant it is because it is balanced upon those twisted riffs. The term synth-gaze has been thrown about and there is something disconcertingly transcendental about the whole thing. Like meditation music but with all the relaxing qualities removed.

There are sound problems (a least twice the guitar abruptly disappears leaving the audience to wonder if that is part of the show) but overall Zetra make one hell of an impression. Their image makes them look like they should be hanging out by the war memorial on a Saturday night drinking self-mixed cider and black from a plastic bottle, but musically they seem to have happened upon a remarkably fresh seam of musical inspiration to mine. If they can ensure that the gimmick of the get-up doesn’t overshadow their sonic output, then there is something really impressive happening here.

Our Alex is going for the Sisters of Mercy School of stage production. For the first four numbers A.A Williams and her band are just shadows in the mist, hidden by a veil of smoke and moody purple lights. It is incredibly atmospheric and perfectly accompanies her ethereal and spine-tinglingly evocative musical offerings. Nothing is rushed and everything creeps with malicious intent. Even though we get 14 songs in a little over an hour, the never band never once put their collective foot to the floor. The whole set unfurls at a glacial pace, haunting and full of emotional resonance. There is a shimmer of magic in the air and combined with the limited visuals it all feels rather other-worldly.

Even though we can’t see her for a good proportion of the show, Alex Williams still cuts a commanding figure. It’s very clear that no matter how talented her band are, this is her show and she is in charge. She speaks but twice, once to document the fact that this is only her second headline show in our city and that the first was held in a church. Her other utterance comes at the end of the set, encouraging us to meet her and the band after at the Merch stand. The rest of the time the music does the talking, even if it is low, rumbling, frail and full of pathos. You see these are tales of the monsters that plague modern life, namely depression, anxiety, and self-doubt. With her trademark ice-cold reserve, Alex lets us into her insecurities. Honest and humble but never fully revealing all the skeletons in her closet. We get almost all of last year’s quite incredible “As the Moon Rests” (only ‘Shallow Water’ and ‘Hallow Heart’ are left on the subs bench) and it is obvious that in the nine months since the albums release the songs have developed further. Everything feels richer and more sumptuous. Her confidence and conviction has become more defined. The imposter syndrome has shifted, and she has started to believe her own press.

The smoke returns for final number ‘As the Moon Rests’ (title track of the last album) and it is as if the band are being pulled back into whatever hellish dimension that they had emerged from. The sound builds into an immaculately sculptured rapture and it all pulsates towards a cacophonous conclusion. The band never quite let loose but somewhere behind the curtain of smoke, there might actually be some banging heads. A.A. Williams creates music that is emotionally charged but simultaneously highly cultivated. She is not going to do anything as common as scream or screech. Instead, everything unfolds in a cultured and sophisticated manner. Beautifully rendered, this is essentially metal for introverts. The rage and the indignation is there, but it is buried and restrained. Sumptuous and luxurious, but fuelled by passive-aggressive moderation this is as metal as fuck. It just doesn’t sound like it.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
A.A. Williams, Zetra