Sans Froid at Wharf Chambers

Smart, eccentric, and gleefully out of step with trends – Bristol quartet Sans Froid bring their tangled, piano-led art-rock to Wharf Chambers this summer.

Built on the foundations of former Leeds duo Pave, Sans Froid have drawn comparisons to Radiohead, Kate Bush and The Mars Volta, while finding kinship among fellow boundary-pushers like CLT DRP, Sugar Horse and Exploring Birdsong.

Their debut album Hello, Boil Brain is an anxious yet playful listen – a collection that veers from frenetic math-rock jabs to majestic piano arrangements, all underscored by Aisling Rhiannon’s elastic, theatrical vocals.

‘Planket’ offers a glimpse of their knack for turning the mundane into the profound – a low-key ode to the quiet joy of skipping the club in favour of tea, blankets, and existential dread. ‘The Still’ crackles with nervous energy, all zig-zagging piano lines and fretful momentum, while ‘Split in Two’ opens with a whisper of self-doubt before twisting into controlled chaos, with lyrics that interrogate personal and societal neuroses.

Even at their most frenetic, there’s precision at play – every jagged riff and keening vocal note meticulously placed.

Live, expect a set fizzing with nervous tension – jagged guitar squalls, knotty time signatures, and a frontperson who can switch from Björk-ish falsetto to hushed intimacy in a heartbeat. It’s progressive music that actually progresses – somewhere strange, specific, and oddly affecting.

Support comes from A-Tota-So, a Nottingham trio known for their emotionally resonant strain of instrumental math/noise rock, veering from delicate and introspective to explosively cathartic. On their most recent album, Lights Out, they bolster their tunes with guest vocals from the likes of Mclusky, Sugar Horse and Sans Froid’s own Aisling Rhiannon. Sharing the bill are Leeds’ own Beluga, who fuse groove-driven riffage with jazz-prog intricacy – think warped sax, off-kilter rhythms and cinematic builds.

For those who like their gigs loaded with instrumental smarts, creative handbrake turns and a side order of existential dread, this Wharf Chambers show is the one.