Nixa, The Tearaways, Underview, Last of our Heroes, The Voltron.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 12th February 2010.

Tonight, Bedford Esquires plays host to www.jellymoose.co.uk on Level 2. A Dunstable based promotional outfit, probably 95% of support has travelled from out of town. With all five bands performing completely new to me, they meet with varying degrees of success.

With flyers plastered around the town centre, THE VOLTRON interest me immediately. Comprising Chris Riley (vocals, bass), Ross Gray (guitar) and Will Scrivener (drums), they are from Dunstable and appear heavily influenced by BRMC.
Staggeringly, Chris reveals that this is only their 4th gig. He and Scriv are well known to Esquires from their previous band The Ruby Shoes. After an embarrassing false start to "City Kicks", the rest of their set roared and purred along majestically. The Voltron's cranked up sound certainly blows away the early evening cobwebs! An exhilarating blast of garage rock, "Come 'n get it" is deep down dirty and primitive. The band employ a lusty desire for sound experimentation. They eschew repetition and totally exude such utter confidence. "Automator" gains from the primal cries of "Electric Suicide". The head spinning and eardrum splitting "Hotwire your Heart" could be, I feel, a rockers request for St Valentine's day.

LAST OF OUR HEROES sadly failed to excite any part of my musical body. With far too much petty and tedious chat to their friends in the audience, the set rather ambled and stumbled along its way. Only "Say Anything" raised this 'punky' quartet out of a deep mire of mediocrity.

UNDERVIEW perked me up enormously, fusing and mixing so many musical styles. On first viewing it adds up to some slightly leftfield pop. They contain, in vocalist James Godkin, a baseball cap wearing frontman with lashings of charismatic swagger. In their own words, Underview are "Four lads from Hemel Hempstead trying to bring good music to the rest of the world"! This gloriously ramshackle bunch contrast some 'dancey' ska on "It's All Cheap" with a touch of raw unhinged rock on "Unfriendly Past". The boys encourage some audience participation on "Don't Know", the clapping intro thrives rapidly.

THE TEARAWAYS, great name, good people. A loveable rumbustious band who comprise Ben Hull (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jamie Prestedge (lead guitar, vocals), Andy Young (bass) and James Halloran (drums). The style and sound is instantly recognisable as it pulls from the guttersnipe rock coffers. They truly strut the Camden walk. Their pretty runt pop combines with tons of post-adolescent self-consciousness, With a previous support slot to Babyshambles on their CV, the band have obviously been noted. A vocalist fully focussed and totally updated on the latest fashion stakes also strikes a cool Johnny Alex pose. The deeply ironic "Winter Blues" sets the bands marker and lyrical template. It rarely strays and the cute and quirky singalongs come thick and fast. Possessing an extremely surreal song title such as "Teddy Bears and Ecstasy" shows that this band are doing just what they say, which is "The Tearaways are just four mates having a good crack". It's my first introduction to the boys and I would like much more. They will be diligently sought out.

NIXA finish our Jellymoose night. However, I wish that they had not! This is thirty minutes of my life that I cannot claim back! A London, Bedford, Northampton collective whose compacted song structures blend with high octane tunes. However, for this reviewer they are so predictable. The band enjoy good support from the vast majority of the paying public, but I can't agree. Their fist pumping and consistently heavy riffage is to be applauded, but there is a certain emptiness to the songs. Their journey through grunge and post hardcore is not one that I would like to take again.