The Cosmic Dead. The Total Refreshment Centre. Hackney.

12. December. 2014

If an imploding star makes any sound as it collapses into a Black Hole then The Cosmic Dead are probably replicating it in their billowing soundscapes. From the very first note they were at the heart of their burning star pounding out molten waves of intergalactic sound that rolled and tumbled forward and nowhere but the present. Swept up and blissed out the audience danced in this universe of ramshackle euphoria. The evening resembled something of the Art School Dance that goes on forever with visiting sonic balladeers. The Total Refreshment Centre or should I say,  outhouse to the cosmos made a fitting space with a stage that barely contained it’s visiting space travellers. It felt as much ‘Happening’ as gig and perhaps that’s what gives this Glaswegian outfit their irresistible charm. There is nothing pretentious in their sonic maelstrom or their uninhibited stage antics, just pure joy in their collapsing star of noise. A Black Hole worth never returning from…

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, Hugh Hamshaw-Thomas.