SubAudible Hum are basically summed up by their name, with a good bulk of their music made up of barely hearable ambient tones. The overriding exception being the bass players thick lines, which blot out everything else. Guitarist and lead singer Daniel Griffith’s vocals are pleasant enough come off like Kid A era Thom Yorke with an Australian twang. However the same can not be said of his guitar playing. He starts off on an acoustic guitar-which is rendered completely inaudible before moving to an electric mid song to play one, also inaudible, chord.
The keyboardists role is somewhat bemusing as for all the effort and skill he puts in he could have just as easily have been replaced by a simple loop pedal. The drummer is not nearly as good as he seems to think, sticking out his tongue out and holding his arms over his head after every beat as if to say, “geeze I smell awesome.” The second guitarist plays slight melodic notes which are supposed to compliment the unheard rhythm guitar. The whole thing is trying far too hard to be avant-garde but ends up simply reeking of pretension. To give you an idea of the level of self congratulatory wankery involved just look at their MySpace to see that their influences are listed as “avalanches, underground generators, sea caves and bats”.
In contrast to the support Gomez bring a sense of humility and understated talent to their performance. Opening with the rusty yet pleasing gravel of Ben Ottewell’s vocals on Revolutionary Kind the sold out venue can not help but be drawn into the spell being woven. From the outset to the end a good contingent of the audience sings along to every word casting a campfire glow of comradely on the evening. The set spans the entire back catalogue of Gomez material without over catering to the greatest hits style. New tracks from the recent New Tide album are rendered with a beauty and skill that far surpasses that of the recorded versions, such as on Airstream Driver.
Gomez seem to excel at making things, that often seem unachievable, natural. They are the only band I know of to pull off the complete lack of a frontman. They constantly change between guitar, bass, vocals and keys. Even drummer Olly Peacock starts the night on keys and synths before making his way to the kit. The contrasting vocal styles of Ottwell (like a leopard purring), Ian Ball (a more nasally straining of the chords) and Tom Gray (the more standard sound that vitally balances the other two) is the biggest key to Gomez’s overall success. This is particularly vital in songs where they alternate between chorus, verse and harmonies.
The very fact that they seem to enjoy themselves and are not afraid to show it, rather than being cocky and distant it means there is always sense of connection between crowd and band. So much so that when Gray says how much he loves our town, as clichéd as it sounds, you believe him. The ease with which the band flow from ballad to blues to rock tinged with electronica is on display for all in set highlights such as Rhythm and Blues Alibi, Silence, Catch Me Up, Sound of Sounds and Ping One Down. The band show their musical prowess when they perform a cover of Led Zeppelin’s Bron-Y-Aur Stomp that is both reverential and innovative, replacing Robert Plants high pitched vibrato with Ottwell’s husky growl.
The best is saved for last when Gray announces, “we don’t play this much anymore,” before launching into the sizzling building rhythm of Whippin’ Piccadilly. They return for a short two song encore (fair enough too they’d already played for nigh on two hours) which includes the wistful 1000 Miles and Detroit Swing 66 both from In Our Gun. I go away with the idyllic scene of the band leaving the crowd to perfectly sing word for word the chorus of Tijuana Lady etched in my mind.
to listen to their music now on 
