There are two types of people in this world: people who adore Slift, and people who’ve never heard of Slift. Don’t feel bad if you fall into that second category, though. The French space rock explorers formed in 2016, and despite them being signed to ex-Nirvana label Sub Pop, the way their long-running rocket rides dart between psychedelia, prog, jazz and metal means they were always going to be niche.
Slift may be small in the grand scheme of things, but they’ve cornered the market in routinely playing the best live shows I’ve ever seen. Today’s set on the Wednesday of Bristol festival Arctangent marks my third time entering their heady orbit, and they may have outdone themselves.
The trio’s concerts are transcendent, cosmic thrillrides. Their genre-jumping deviations are always erratic and exciting, anchored around the herculean drumming of Canek Flores. Meanwhile, the otherworldly aura emitted by singer/guitarist Jean Fossat’s distorted wails and echoing riffs, and his bassist brother Remí’s throbbing twangs, is hammered home by a huge video backdrop, playing what seem to be Doctor Who openings that were abandoned for being too weird.
Ummon opens the vortex to Slift’s sonic universe, but the most widescreen explorations come via the two songs from 2024’s Ilion album: the title track and Nimh. The latter is usually the standout moment, even from showmen as perfect as these, ending by revisiting the first verse and slowing it into a groove metal neck-snapper. Today, however, the extravaganza finishes with one of several as-yet-unreleased songs, called Secret Mirror. It dazzles with its brain-warping dynamics, blasting from synthy krautrock to immediate, unapologetic heaviness.
Jean ends the night by revealing that the Ilion tour is now over and Slift will return in 2026 – potentially with their best music to date, if tonight is anything to go by. Until then, this band have just given Arctangent what will surely go down as the greatest set of the weekend. But, for them, being this magnificent is simply the norm.
Slift setlist: Arctangent festival, Bristol, UK – August 13, 2025
- Ummon
- Fantaz (unreleased)
- A Storm (unreleased)
- Day Of Ex (unreleased)
- Ilion
- Nimh
- Secret Mirror (unreleased)
