The Fleece, Bristol

Dads always go on about things coming back around. “Is that Led Zeppelin I hear on that rap song?”, “Yes, even Napalm Death have The Beatles to thank for laying the foundations of popular music!”, “Levi’s, we all wore ‘em, you had to sit in them in a cold bath to get them to fit right”; etc. California’s bubbling psychedelic scene is further testament to the fact that your old man – smugly holding Grateful Dead LPs in each hand – was probably right.

Tim Presley. Tim Presley is White Fence. A project he started in his bedroom, by himself, playing or simulating every instrument. He has a rich musical CV, from the punk rock of The Nerve Agents to fuzzy shoegaze in Darker My Love, to even a stint in The Fall. But White Fence is entirely his. He’s one of his generation’s most prolific and artistically driven musicians and quietly adopts an unassuming star quality. Last year’s For The Recently Found Innocent was a departure from pure bedroom lo-fi to something resembling a ‘proper’ studio recording. Until this album it had been difficult to imagine how such muffled charms would translate live, minus their psychedelic distractions.

Thankfully, they have it figured out. Opener Chairs in the Dark begins with a nonchalantly raucous wall of noise that eventually melts into Fragility, the dreamlike 2013 B-side. The set is tastefully arranged and continues to be peppered with a wide selection of songs that span their six albums to date. Live, established tunes like And By Always and Baxter Corner are pounding and precise while maintaining the bendy dysfunction that makes them great on record. Unexpectedly, Cate Le Bon is on second guitar duties, and modestly tucks herself away behind the spotlight. Behind the kit, The Oh Sees’ drummer Nick Murray is fantastically unrelenting and plays in a style as contemporary as it is vintage.

At points – amongst many lengthy jams – when at risk of sounding repetitive, tracks like Anger! What keeps You Under? and Dwn Pnx shift the pace with a swagger that demands interest. Everyone in attendance is into it, but the unfilled Fleece is unlikely to compete with receptions from other cities on the tour. Bristol can be a bit crap when it comes rock music, but still… They end with Get The Heart followed by Paranoid Bait, the latter of which shudders into a muddy crescendo of fuzz. With that, amongst nods, thank yous and much applause, White Fence are gone again. It’s safe to assume that Tim Presley will be back with something else, very soon. Seriously, though, who sits in the bath with jeans on anyway?