Friday 29/02/08 Domino State @ Barfly, Camden

In Camden Town where the buildings are fire-ridden and pirates freely roam the streets; selling out a venue these days doesn’t guarantee that the promoter will spell your name correctly on the posters. Domino State (not Estate) have seduced countless clientele in from the sodden streets tonight and crammed them into the bolshy, grubby and essentially drunk top room at the Barfly. Taking full advantage of the strong currency that Friday night relief holds, the band’s tight brand of epic melody is shown in all its dark, Smithsian glory from the off. 

Clocking on with the brooding claustrophobe anthem ‘Iron Mask’, the equally intense new release ‘What’s The Question?’ follows closely on its tail. With each tune clicking over one-by-one, the sheer size and depth of these songs quickly becomes apparent. As the show progresses and inevitably momentum builds, it’s easy to believe that these tunes will take to shimmering and soaring across a much larger setting like a duck to water; laser show and all that good shit thrown in surely.

A slight dip in crowd participation on the debut of a new song is wisely buried mid-set before a strong finish with their signature tune of immense proportions; ‘Safe Now’. Filling the whole room with layers of swirling guitar and haunting vocals this song is what can only be described as truly climatic. Optimistic but sinister in equal measures, save a slight over-echo on the vocal at times, this has been a strong, efficient set that has got the most out of the ebullient, densely populated crowd. 

While Domino State can’t be accused of treating “mould breaking” as a priority, their gleaming, tight and genuinely emotive show sets them apart from the glut of guitar based bands currently on the circuit and would suggest a favourable reaction to the release of their debut LP later this year is more than likely.