There are perhaps no other band around at the minute that have shown musical development and growth quite like The Orielles. Since the release of the Halifax trio’s debut LP, ‘Silver Dollar Moment’ all the way through to last years, ‘Tableau’, they have gone on a sonic journey like no other.

This development has, naturally, bled over into their live shows, with their most recent tour climaxing in their native Yorkshire, at the Brudenell Social Club.

Setting to mood expertly were the truly captivating, ‘Nightbus’ a Manchester-based trio whose brand of post-punk/electronic drones were both unnerving and hypnotic. They commanded the stage and the audience with the confidence and swagger of a band well beyond their years and, more importantly, had the songs to back it up.

As The Orielles took the stage it was clear to see that this version of the band are truly night and day from their, ‘Disco Volador’ days only two years ago. With an ambient drone filling the venue the band quickly launched into a selection of tracks from their latest LP, ‘Tableau’, with the monolithic, ‘To Offer, To Erase’ kicking things off. As the shoegaze tones filled each and every corner of the venue the audience became quickly aware that this was not to be a standard gig, but rather the band bringing the album into the real world. With following tracks, ‘The Room’ and, ‘Television’ it became clear as day that the audience was not there to dance and to sing-along with the hits, you were there to be pulled into their world, drawn into the dark, ambient dream-pop.

‘Beams’ and, ‘Darkened Corners’ were true angular brilliance, with guitarist Henry Carlyle Wade taking charge on the melodic front, conducting his guitar with the same authority as a classical conductor, whilst drummer Sid Hand-Halford provided the darkened backbone to the set. The normally light and breezy vocal stylings of singer Esme Dee Hand-Halford have been replaced by a dreamy, ethereal tones that perfectly fit the new shoegaze direction.

As previously mentioned, this show was different to your typical, “gig”, and this was evident on the faces of some in attendance. For the vast majority, the musicality and the versatility of the group was a fascinating sight to behold. However, the show must have felt slightly muted for those simply wanting to dance their Saturday night away.

As the set drew to a close old-favourites, ‘Sugar Tastes Like Salt’ was a brilliant bridge between The Orielles of old and new. The brooding, psych-tinged track had the crowd arms aloft and dancing under the lights. This was quickly followed by the disco brilliance of, ‘Bobbi’s Second World’, with the bass line reverberating around the venue and the guitar taking a backseat, providing a light undertone.

‘The Instrument’ rounded out not only the set but perhaps this third iteration of the group. One that wishes to flaunt their maturity and pull the audience into their delicately crafted world. Sure, some may have been disappointed at the lack of back-catalogue tracks, but when you allow yourself to slip into the world of, ‘Tableau’ it is one that is truly captivating.