To release an album of the year contender just mere weeks into the new year is one feat, but to follow it up with one of my most anticipated shows just a few weeks after that is quite the achievement. This seems like just another day at the office however for French 3 piece, Slift. Manchester Gorilla was rife with anticipation and despite Tesseract and Thrice occupying other venues across Manchester, the amount of punters who have turned out for the French 3 piece, is incredibly admirable.

Prior to Slift however, was another French 3 Piece, Servo. If you’re into dark, neon lit, brooding techno with the ruthless aggression of Metal and the technicality and sweeping ambiance of post rock then Servo are the band for you. They were a perfect fit for Slift and captured the mood and expectation of the night perfectly. Thumping bass line kept the clock ticking over, allowing disjointed, stabby guitar sections to float wondrously over it with some impressive harmonised vocal hooks keeping the music grounded and structured. Overall it was an impressive start and I’m sure if you love Slift, you would’ve loved Servo.

And now onto the Headliners, Slift. To say there is a buzz about the band is a massive understatement. Their recently release, “IIlion”, is already the Golden Child of the Year End List Brigade, and I suspect it’ll be very difficult for it to have its position as #1 album of 2024 uninterrupted. There is no best way to describe their sound, as they are an all encompassing tribute to cosmic, psychedelic rock, whilst showing a complete understanding of stoner, hardcore, space, acid and everything in between. They have been able to carve out their own niche by not parking their selves in one spot, and instead keeping the machine moving, never seemingly satisfied until they cover every possible genre.

The level of depth that Slift are able to produce through just 3 guys and a couple of pedals is something that I will marvel at for years to come. Slift don’t create music, they create these all encompassing, overwhelming soundscapes that are almost cosmic in being and are enthralling, wondrous and create a unique air of anticipation and bewilderment. Even if you know what is coming next, through listening to Slift, it is impossible not to be completely satisfied in the pay offs some of these songs provide.

This wasn’t a concert, this was a religious experience, with vocals that are almost holistic in nature. There was no beginning middle and end, no acts, no passages, it was a 90 minute build up, culminating in one of the most raucous climaxes in a concert I have seen.

Initially, the crowd and band were sizing each other up, not quite knowing what will happen, but as the tension rose, so did the anticipation, and by the time the finale of ‘Lions, Tigers and Bears’ erupted, the pits had opened, the stage diving had begun, and the place was absolute pandemonium. I hadn’t seen anything like it, but was an absolute master class of building anticipation. The number of concerts I have been to sit comfortably are in the triple digits, and I despise hyperbole, but tonight, Slift put on a performance that I could confidently say is one of the greatest things I have ever seen. Fact.