Younghusband take us to Heaven

Sometimes promoters get a bill just right, booking three bands which although very different, complement each other absolutely perfectly and from the very start to the end the gig just
works
.

 

Younghusband @ Heaven, London 7th May 2014

Or, even, simply
flows
. This certainly applied to the three bands on tonight, from the psychedelic shoegaze of Younghusband, the grungy surf-pop of The Wytches to the all out intense psych-rock of Bo Ningen, playing tonight in support of their excellent new album. The opening slot is Sonic Cathedral’s hugely promising Younghusband, who released their debut
Dromes album in September of last year and are following it up with an expanded deluxe edition this year. They’ve also bagged the prestigious support slot opening slot supporting the reformed Slowdive at the Village Underground later in May (fans of the Sonic Cathedral label will find a connection here!), a gig which will surely see their profile rocket afterwards and having now caught two live shows, it’s easy to see why the two will compliment each other. Younghusband’s influences certainly have some roots in the early nineties shoegaze bands, an immediate reference point being Ride, the ooh’s and ahh’s throughout much of their repertoire very reminiscent of Mark Gardener and co in their pomp. ‘Comets Crossed’ opens the set is bassy style, followed by ‘Left of the Rocks’ and ‘Silver Sisters’ before a trippy new song revolving around picked notes and more of those harmonies. They’re accomplished throughout, and in an age of Toy and the Horrors are a perfect compliment to this scene. The Wytches arrive in noisy style, thrashing their way through Nirvana influenced three minute guitar workouts, off set with riffs and solos in jangly surf-pop style. Their boundless energy makes for a compelling set and it’s hard to be distracted from them as they raise the tempo. But it’s Bo Ningen who are tonight’s headliners, and they do their very best to blow the roof off, opening with a ten minute stomp and barely taking a breath afterwards. They are loud, crazy and furiously intense and simply superb from start to finish. The new record could just propel them to another level, as they’re more than ready for it. Long live J-Rock.  

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