Blue Whale

One of the most fiercely unpigeonholeable, inventive, and downright enjoyable bands to ever come out of Ireland, Blue Whale have decided to call it a day. Come along for their final ever gig and give them the sendoff they deserve.

Comprising guitaristsMichael O’HalloranandBen Behzadafshar, drummerJohn Macormacand bassistAndrew Melville,Blue Whale were a supremely shapeshifting live proposition by the time the genre-maulingProcessarrived in 2018.Andy CairnsofTherapy?was reminded of free-jazz pioneer,Albert Ayler“playing with a bunch of kids that grew up onSteve Albinirecords” whileThe Line of Best Fitsaid“the mathy, jazz-flecked brew hurtles through a thorny tunnel of riffs and percussive flailing–it should be utter chaos, but Blue Whale make it honeyed.”Last Immediate Imagesis their most recent release (2023). Recorded and produced byGilla Band’s Dan Fox, the album is a masterful expansion, and deft deconstruction, of whatthe Quietushailed as their“chaotic, yet controlled experimental rock.”

Lauded for evoking everyone fromDeerhoofandSwans, toSlintandCaptain Beefheart, all the while sounding uniquely incendiary; with a particularly fierce and fun dynamism seen on the live stage. Strain your ear elsewhere throughLast Immediate Imagesand you might hear flickers and ghosts of ex-Tom Waits’ guitaristMarc Ribot,Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan, a slither ofA Silver Mt. Zion,and the shuffle and energy of London jazz scene acts likeSons of Kemet.

Thank you, Blue Whale. It’s been a trip!