Madra Salach live in London: an unmissable live band with incredible power

Paul Banks stands with his hands leaning on top of his mic stand, looking out over the Electric Ballroom crowd. It’s nearly the end of Madra Salach’s first of two sold-out nights at the London venue – the Dublin band’s biggest shows to date – and a sustained drone eking out from Maxime Arnold’s harmonium indicates how they’re going to wrap things up. Over the last 12 months or so, ‘The Man Who Seeks Pleasure’ has become their de facto set closer – a finale that seems to grow in intensity and emotion every time they play it. READ MORE: Madra Salach are remoulding traditional Irish folk to their own blistering tune Tonight (October 13) is no different. It’s as full of feeling in its quieter moments, when it’s just Banks and the drone commanding the room, or in the spaces in between, as when the layers build to dramatic heights. As Banks’ vocals grow from gentle intonation to affecting rasps, so too does the audience begin to join in. This is a lightning-in-a-bottle kind of song – one with something almost magical to it in the way it can make your tear ducts fill up on demand, but feels like only the six-piece who wrote it could really harness the full extent of its power. Madra Salac...