The Battle On Medicine
The Piece Corridor, Halifax
twenty first June 2023

Adam Granduciel introduced his epic heartland rock to suitably grand surrounds in West Yorkshire

Two years in the past, Adam Granduciel ascended to rock’s prime desk, taking his place within the pantheon alongside his heroes. I Don’t Reside Right here Anymore, his sprawling fifth album as The Battle On Medicine, confirmed him as his technology’s biggest exponent of epic guitar rock; he takes his cues from Bruce Springsteen, who his son his named after, in addition to The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, and on his meticulously crafted albums he channels their spirit, while imbuing it with a razor-sharp eye for sonic element and a eager ear for a hovering refrain.

When he adopted up his indie breakthrough, 2014’s Misplaced In The Dream, along with his main label debut, A Deeper Understanding three years later, music mogul Jimmy Iovine mentioned that Granduciel’s band “must be gigantic”. They’re not fairly at stadium degree but, however The Battle On Medicine have taken in arenas on their two most up-to-date visits to the UK, the form of cavernous rooms that their winding sonic tapestries had been at all times destined for.

If Granduciel has come to overlook the appeal of extra soulful venues, although, then this newest run of UK exhibits ought to have been fairly the balm, following up a gig at Cornwall’s iconic Eden Challenge with this present at Halifax’s stunning Piece Corridor, a Grade I-listed former material corridor that dates again to 1779. It gives a stunning backdrop for the present, positioned within the corridor’s courtyard, first amid dazzling sunshine as Warpaint present a hypnotic opening set in opposition to a gradual sundown on the longest day of the yr.

The Battle On Medicine have settled easily into the rhythm of taking part in venues this dimension. The group is expansive, encompassing seven gamers, with Granduciel giving off a way that he’s first amongst equals, his guitar taking part in as essential to the songs as his vocals. It’s on the quieter tracks that his voice involves the fore, on the surprisingly low-key opener Ache, as an illustration, or the good-looking ode to his childhood, Dwelling Proof.

The place Granduciel and the band actually soar, although, is on the sweeping rock tracks, with the tempo set early on by a colossal run by the freewheeling An Ocean In Between The Waves. Elsewhere, Purple Eyes proves a specific hit with the near-capacity crowd, with its rolling descents into guitar freakouts, whereas the mellow, undulating In Chains cements its place as a contemporary smooth rock basic.

The band peak with an epic hat-trick of Eyes To The Wind, Beneath The Stress and I Don’t Reside Right here Anymore; the second of these, maybe nonetheless Granduciel’s crowning achievement, permits powerhouse drummer Charlie Corridor to return to the fore, with a monstrously energetic flip behind the package matching Granduciel’s solos for showboating. I Don’t Reside Right here Anymore, in the meantime, virtually serves as a sonic metaphor for The Battle On Medicine’ trajectory as a band, ascending gloriously by key change after key change.

There’s room for the band to be playful, too – there’s a canopy of Warren Zevon’s Play It All Night time Lengthy on the midpoint, and a melancholy tackle The Waterboys’ Unusual Boat to complete – but it surely’s The Battle On Medicine’ gleeful love of unabashedly panoramic rock that has introduced them to stately settings like this one.

The Battle on Medicine might be discovered at their web site | Fb | Instagram

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Phrases by Joe Goggins: discover him on Twitter right here.

Photograph credit score: Alex Cropper