The Sea Sessions On Tour Presents Fujiya & Miyagi And Tieranniesaur, Live At Black Box

It’s a balmy Saturday evening and, eager beavers that we are, we’ve made our way down to the Black Box in Belfast bright and early to catch Brighton-based Krautrock devotees Fujiya & Miyagi.
The night kicks off with a set from Dublin-based renegades of pop-funk Tieranniesaur who, if memory serves, are playing their inaugural show in the north. Armed with an arsenal of disco punk songs, the well-regarded upstarts remind this reviewer of a less politicised Le Tigre and while I’m no fan of the slap bass solo, the likes of the throbbing ‘Here Be Monsters’ definitely make up. Featuring a rhythm section that are so locked in that they seem to operate like a hive mind and an infectious sense of fun, it’s easy to see what all the fuss is about. Hopefully they’ll be back in the city sooner rather than later.
Touring in support of their hard to love fourth album Ventriloquizzing, this evening’s headliner Fujiya & Miyagi take to the stage with more of a whimper than a bang in ‘Cat Got Your Tongue’. It doesn’t take them long to win us round to their icy brand of robotic dance rock. Boasting a sonic stew that calls to mind Can and Neu!, as well as Hawkwind and the Pet Shop Boys (in their early days), for the next hour we’re well and truly immersed into their world thanks to a crystal clear sound and projections of images of cassettes, yo-yos and various other ‘80s-flavoured visuals.
Highlights include the now classic sounding ‘Collarbone’ and ‘Ankle Injuries’. At times the whole “anti-frontman” schtick makes for a stifling, almost claustrophobic experience, but in the end the unrelenting grooves and anthemic, ambitious space jams win the day.