The Wedding Present + more across Manchester Academy.
The Bug Club
London, EartH Hackney
April 20th 2023
Brimming with purposeful vigour and instantly memorable tunes, Tom Parry finds The Bug Club to be one of the best new bands of recent times at their biggest headline show in London to date.
With catchy hooks, hummable harmonies, witty lyrics and a foot-tappingly insistent rhythm, The Bug Club are so perfectly packaged that they spread a tangible warmth through EartH Hackney, a drafty converted Art Deco 1930s cinema.
For their biggest London headline gig to date, the Welsh three-piece showcased a breathtaking set of 22 songs at a jaunty pace which never really relented. Though at first, it seemed as though the choice of venue might not be ideal for their tightly-crafted garage pop, these three brilliant players attacked their songs with such gusto and musicianship that they filled the space with its high vaulted ceiling.
The Bug Club, fronted by school friends Tilly and Sam, from Caldicot, South Wales, looked as though they were enjoying every second of the performance. Their smiles and sense of fun were so obviously completely genuine, and these attributes – combined with their finely honed skill as a tight band without an aloof attitude – were just infectious.
Wherever I looked, people were grinning from ear to ear. We were all awed by the raucous and melodic spectacle, which for me was unexpectedly flawless. Having come across The Bug Club just over a year ago, I thought they might be rougher around the edges. But nothing of the sort on the basis of this outstanding gig.
From time to time a new band comes along that is so immediate, so thrilling and so brilliant musically that watching every note and beat is a privilege. I am not exaggerating by saying that The Bug Club were so impressive that it was as though they had just landed from another planet. They gave me the rare thrill of raw excitement I used to get when watching new groups as a teenager (a long time ago).
EartH is an all-seated venue, but it did not take long for the cluster of devoted fans standing in front of the immense stage to swell to a mild-mannered moshpit. Theirs is music which demands jumping to.
They look great too. Whether intentional or not, Tilly and Sam with their turned-up jeans, white T-shirts and Kicker pumps have a distinct, quirky cool, in keeping with the boundless energy of their playing. Quirky, though, does them a disservice. I was completely enthralled by watching how good each of them were. Sam’s virtuoso fluency down the fretboard appeared effortless, but is obviously a result of constant practice. Drummer Dan did more than just keep rhythm, displaying a lightness of touch and subtlety that added so much to brilliant two-minute vignettes like It’s Art and The Fixer. Tilly’s bass playing was equally intricate.
It was the interplay between the three of them that was most impressive though. A power trio already at the height of their powers not long after bursting onto the scene.
The Bug Club website here|Facebook |Instagram
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All words by Tom Parry, you can find his author’s archive here plus on Twitter and his website
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