Sisters Of Mercy

Set list: Anaconda / Train – Destination Boulevard / Ribbons / On The Wire – Teachers / Dominion – Mother Russia / Giving Ground / Summer / Crash N’ Burn / Will I Dream? / We Are The Same, Suzanne / Du Bist Ich mein? / Flood I / Romeo Down / War On Drugs / Alice / Temple Of Love 1999 Encore: Something Fast / Flood II Encore 2: Snubnose (instrumental) / Vision Thing

The Sisters of Mercy currently seem to exist in creative, artistic limbo. Every year or so, the Sisters roll out for a gig or 2, and then retreat back to their isolated world in Hamburg, tinkering around with websites, electronic gadgets and watch Star trek videos. They’ve released 1 new song in the past 10 years, a workrate that makes the legendarily hermitic Kraftwerk start to look prolific.

It doesn’t help when the Sisters seem to be intent of career suicide either. Having spent the majority of the 90s’ trying to escape from a supposedly restrictive contract with East West, East West then bought an album (by SSV, apparently standing for “stuff shareholder values”) featuring sampled vocals from lead singer (and sole contractee) Andrew Eldritch, only to realise it was unreleasable as a Sister s Of Mercy record, and then promptly giving up on the band. Now, with the exception of the die-hard fans who will never forget the legendary goths who brought us probably the best goth album of the 80s’ (First, last and Always), the Sisters Of Mercy will always hold a place in our hearts, but not in the charts. So it only seems fitting that, with so little new material available, and no product to promote, they play 45 minutes of totally new, previously unheard, unreleased songs, at least to prove they haven’t been idle. Still, it works out at roughly one new song per year since their last album, and Is as much a curse as a blessing.

The Sisters have taken considerable pains to rework and revitalise their older material for their live set. “Anaconda” – anaemic on record – is beefed up to the point of reinvention tonight, sounding fresher and more alive than the sisters have in many years. The fact that it is a 17 year old single only makes this even more startling, s the sheer quality of the back catalogue is astounding, showing exactly why the Sisters deserve their legendary status. It is by this barometer that the new material must be judged, and consequently falls far far short of the mark. Next up is the “train/Detonation Boulevard” medley – another example of how obtuse the sisters can be. Once again, never on record in this form, and the Sisters are playing 17 year old b-sides, tracks unavailable officially for well over a decade, much as they play the 1984 b-side “on the wire” later in the set. It is only four songs into the set when recognisable material begins to emerge with the splenetic, superlative rendition of “Ribbons”. Then its back to b-side territory again with the already mentioned “On the Wire”, before the 1988 classic “Dominion – Mother Russia” booms out and reminds why this band were once so vital, so important, so life affirming, rather than being a reheated goth cabaret act attempting musical suicide in the slowest, most prolonged way possible.

The Sisters are doing it for themselves, and no one else. They deliberately making it heard for themselves, as if they want to begin again, as if they want no-one to like them,. As if they are deliberately trying to annoy people. Its like they are playing cover versions of themselves, which in fact they do when retreading the magnificent elegaic and mournful “giving ground” (written and produced by Andrew Eldritch in order to spite The Mission, it was released under the name the Sisterhood).

It is at this point, having already played an eclectic mix of rare non-album material and cover versions unfamiliar to the most of the audience that the Sisters decide to put the boot in. Only one out of the next 9 songs is familiar to the crowd, everything else in new material. With the sheer quality of songs such as “Body Electric” which don’t get aired, this is absurd to the point of stupidity. Within soon, despite the high quality of the new material by anybody else’s standards, restless and boredom set in quickly. “Summer” is supposed to be their big comeback single, yet does not stand out, following much the same template as “under the Gun”. While “Crash and Burn” shows a lot of promise, it is ultimately disappointing, despite its dynamics…”Will I Dream?” despite its reference to Andrew Eldritchs much loved 2001 is – like much of the new material – disappointing, and derivative. The arrangements of the new material ultimately leads them to be unimpressive and unmemorable. Much of it starts in the same tempo, same rhythm, same arrangement, and ultimately blends together in one huge amorphous mass. Indeed the only memorable song of these is “War On Drugs”, if only for the fact that it doesn’t have the same monotone repetitive drumloop throughout, gradually speeding up into a riff of Motorheadesque proportions. Indeed, the most interesting thing about this part of the gig is a superb – as always – light show that seems more suited to the NEC than Rock City.

Then during Alice, long time favourite, the venue seems to come alive. For once, the crowd react, because it is something they know, and expect. A complete deficit of material from the First Last and Always Album is pretty distracting too, but Andrew Eldritch continues to berate the crowd “Oh, I get it, You’re all traditionalists!”. Then its into “Temple Of Love”, cut in half, totally rearranged, and far less effective. Starting with the drum breakdown, it is far far less effective, but predictable.

Come the encores, there are more songs people know. Another new song “Snubnose” (an speed metal instrumental), and the obligatory dumbass rock of Vision Thing.

Ultimately, though, The Sisters are in a strange position. Trying desperately to remain relevant with totally unfamiliar new material, they are in the dangerous position of alienating what little remains of their audience by neglecting the more familiar of their back catalogue. Ultimately this leaves no one satisfied. The band, and Andrew Eldritch in particular, resent feeling like they have to play the old songs everybody knows….and the audience don’t want to hear the new songs, having paid upwards of £20 for the privilege. The atmosphere inside is one of expectation beforehand, boredom and discontentment during, and disappointment afterwards. For their largest UK tour in 15 years, the band seem almost resentful of playing the old songs, and it has to be one of the disappointing shows I’ve ever seen, a band at war with its audience, unaware of how thin the tightrope really is, uncaring or unknowing about how close to the abyss of irrelavancy it really is. What the audience seem to want is no confusion, no surprise, and that’s exactly what they don’t get. What they get is a million points of light. And Its just not enough.