As locals Puncture Repair Kit kickstart proceedings with their awkward, occasionally dissonant brand of fluttering death-folk, the (now) void junction 1 is hardly up for it. Whilst both these guys and the headliners have at some junctures in their careers created excessively twee-resonating sounds with a stark darkness lurking beneath, the incongruity of the PRK's a-bit-too-much-like-Belle & Sebastian acoustics and the ensuing acts' throttling feedback and general abrasion comes as a bit too much of a shocker. The black comedic 'Murder's probably wrong' and 'Dr Freeman', however, through their mix of banjos, fiddly violin jangles and melodica solos, provide a pretty nifty beginning, if a bit mellow and elongated.
6/10
Fanzine, on the other hand, blow the damn roof off, gargantuan riffs galore. Their lung-pummelling melange of slacker-rock and grunge is tight as hell and effortlessly catchy. From the intricate solos and slick 'ooh-ooh's of opener 'Biru' to the chugging, Pavement-recalling 'Beetle Song', the delights just keeping on coming. They seem to have that natural connection on stage that requires no intracommunication and to be one of very few grungey bands who really go for it *ahem* that's NOT you Yuck, you uncharismatic so-and-sos. In a short set brimming with highlights, Fanzine's standouts also come via 'Susan' and 'Kisser', both rollicking odes to lovers that would never be.
I am later swayed by the lead singer (below) to purchase a neat little EP of theirs - only £3! - which turns out to be a lot less sparkling and a lot more DIY, but just as sick as the live experience. All of this comes together to make me wonder, could they actually have outshone the formidable PAINS? Check out cool live videos and more on their blogspot.
9/10
POBPAH, as hinted at above, are as momentous and sexy as ever. In a set which straddles the oldies and the newbies, the room is now (sorta) teeming, which is somewhat relieving. Like Fanzine, the band is unbelievably tight, vivifying the tracks on Belong, their second full-length, as well as resurrecting tracks from their self-titled debut.
'Belong' sounds a lot like Smashing Pumpkins (which is ridiculous really — imagine them playing in front of 500 people!), its throttling beat to-ing and fro-ing in time to the floppy front strands of the drummer's hairdo. Frontman Kip, adorned with a Vivian Girls tee, performs sleek moves during the wistful highlights 'Heart In Your Heartbreak' and 'Come Saturday'. His fiddly riffs are infused with distortion and feedback at each chorus, and although this did become rather formulaic after a while, his lively persona and kooky accent are enough to captivate onlookers.
Tonight, their stadium-sized antics seem rather out-of-place, but that's not their fault. I suppose we'll be seeing them at the O2 in a couple of years time anyway.
8/10
