SENSER were one of those bands that seemed to be making their way to full-on mainstream until problems starting getting in their way. Signing to Ultimate records after a Glastonbury slot in 1993, they went onto release "Stacked Up"- their debut that entered No.4 in the UK in ’94 that gained them plenty of attention. Then the problems started. "Musical differences" caused line-up changes, their female singer( Kerstin Haigh) fell pregnant holding up the 2nd album, Asylum, which didn’t come out until ’98 and more "musical differences" finally led to the band breaking up in Feb ’99.
This break-up may have worked out for the better. They went onto collaborate on their own back catalogue album "Parallel Charge" in 2000 with the original line-up. This in turn has now led to a new album and tour with the original line-up, much to their fans' delight.
Tonight sees Britains answer to Rage Against The Machine, backed up by emo-hardcore youngsters Three Days Born, at Glasgow Barfly. A small downstairs venue, probably not the first choice of many bands, but still worthy of a visit. The crowd consists of a few fresh faces (and TDB’s parents) but mainly the band's older hardcore fans that seem to be stunned when Senser suddenly appear onstage, getting a sharp wake-up call when "No Comply" is blasted at them. Extreme pogo-ing instantly begins and doesn’t seem to end all night except, perhaps for a second or two, when a few tracks from their new album (SCHEMAtic) are scanned before pogo-ing continues.
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The band defeat any preconceived images of tired, old 'almost-made its' with main man Heitham Al-Sayed looking baby-faced alongside Kerstin Haigh who is also looking and sounding as good as ever. Stopping only for breath, or "discussion time" as Al-Sayed likes to put it, to ask the crowd which they preferred – "Terrorism and the effect it has on our society OR Paradise Island?" The crowd answers to both with miffed cheers as they kick into new track "Return from Zombie Island".
Alongside old favourites such as "Switch" and "Age of Panic", new tracks such as the forthcoming single "The Brunt" sound like a return to their more rockier/harder debut, staying away from their last proper album’s ("Asylum") more dance-influenced sound. They still have that eclectic edge and the tools to progress that many bands in the same genre lack.
Overall a great gig and showcase for a few tracks from the new album out on May 24th. They still have quite a way to go before matching their status a decade ago but with a few more gigs like this, they will have provided themselves with a reputation that should see them shake off any critics claiming their time came and went.
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