Live Report: Khruangbin turn 3Arena into a chilled-out Sala

How Khruangbin have managed to book an arena-sized tour across Europe is pretty remarkable. The Houston trio’s discography mainly consists of instrumental blends of mellow psych-rock and groovy blues, characterised by intricate guitar and bass playing. Their sound meanders and floats, enveloping the listener in addicting textures and rhythms.

That said, despite the critical acclaim for their four studio albums, they’re not exactly the most pop-adjacent act in the world - so it was reasonable to raise the question on whether or not their performance would fill and reach every corner of a 3Arena-sized room.

Khruangbin at 3Arena. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

The band began by playing their newest album, A La Sala in full. Arriving in April earlier this year, the record ranks as one of the band’s more melancholic and slower-tempo releases to date.

Its mellow grooves are soft and pleasing, but while the LP makes for an interesting and smooth listen in the live setting, it felt a bit distant at times for such a cavernous venue. Tracks such as ‘May Ninth’ and ‘Pon Pon’ were among the highlights, introducing invigorating flashes of intensity.

It’s evident that Khruangbin wish to present themselves in a laid-back fashion. The stage setting is fairly simple, with three large arch windows providing the backdrop, with a flight of stairs leading up to them. The large screens on either side of the stage provide blurry, slow-motion visuals of the live performance, reinforcing the woozy, dream-like aesthetic.

The band’s movements were subtle and well-managed, as bassist Laura Lee and guitarist Mark Speer methodically drifted around the stage with bent knees and raised guitar necks.

Khruangbin at 3Arena. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

After a brief intermission, where the band left the stage to the sound of a thunderous lightning storm and intense stage visuals, they re-appeared with a setlist filled with what could only be described as the “classics”.

Tracks such as ‘So We Won’t Forget’, ‘Time (You and I)’, and ‘María También’ were crowd favourites, made clear by the tangible energy which swelled in the crowd and on stage.

It was also during this portion of the set where they spoke to the audience for the first time, offering a few brief words of thanks before launching back into the thick of things.

The indisputable highlight of the show was the climactic, ‘People Everywhere (Still Alive)’. Its infectious opening riff and rhythmic grooves invoked a communal dance party, which concluded with a wall of sound and rapturous applause.

While the crowd-friendly second-half of the set generated a good atmosphere, it would be remiss not to suggest that Khruangbin’s performance might have been better suited to a smaller, more intimate room - one that would have allowed for greater appreciation for the band's style, which is more grounded in the intricacies than the spectacular.