Far from Seattle's finest, Womb Bomb, a selection of scruffy and hairy-faced youths are with us tonight; angst is most definitely upon us…However a well attended sound check turns out to be a chance for the band to perform a miniperformance, full of vibrancy and hoards of energy provided by the delightful Raven. With a melodic bassline, dirty washed out power chords from the guitar, a semi-naked drummer and a frenzied vocalist, connections to Nirvana are easy to spot. Indeed, "Bleach" runs all the way through their set, nicely reminded to us by the fact that the bassist is wearing the very same hoody. There is a real buzz of wonder (verging on embarrassment) as the predatory bird falls to the floor starts to contort and roll around on Mamba's dingy, Fosters-soaked floor. "What's he on?" asks the amazed crowd. The Music? I certainly hope not… Its not that its bad, but then again, its not that its good either, certainly not good enough for the audience to join in with the floor moshing. Perhaps the biggest upset of the night was the absence of the advertised Psycadeliasmith. Unfortunately, the unpractised fivesome pulled out of the gig (a first offence for the band) due to poor organisation between members. So does this spell the end? With bassist Sam now living in Exeter, drummer Martin having been imprisoned by his girlfriend, and singer Louise virtually "playing away" for Hawaii, things don't look all that good. Watch this space. There are some odious old farts who try to spread the vibe that "Brat" aren't worth a listen, after not being too impressed with their supporting role in September's SOTU. Having been immediately branded as Blink 183, the five-piece from Exeter have a lot to answer for. Brat certainly do rock the suburbs, complete with lollipops draping from mouths, massive shorts/small trousers, and those cute little pulled up socks. So they look like dicks, but what about they're punk-ethic? It's a bit concerning as a more mature member of the audience yells out: "You need to play some fucking punk music". So maybe the "true" aren't keen, but what ever happened to fun? They are certainly tight and they definitely know when to go double time, as Brat steer jovially through a ten track set combining rattling drums, easy guitar and a snotty yelp, resulting in a credible noise - simple, direct and perfect. Highlights included well thought covers of the Happy Days theme tune, alongside a strangely warming cover of Annie. There are politics in here, somewhere, but its Brat's raw and young spirit that really shines through. Sure, anyone can do this…but who could do it this well?
TEXT: ALEX T