Your Army, Lecarla, Charlie's Indestructible, Sunset Reset.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 8th August 2009.

A quite breathtaking Esquires debut by headliners YOUR ARMY is the highlight of a satisfying promotion by the Little Red Roster. Travelling from Brighton, this quartet are Lucy Caffrey (vocals), Simon Key (bass), Chris Skelly (guitar) and Andrew Hollick (drums). The result of their musical consumation is something akin to Blondie meets the Yeah Yeah Yeahs mixed in with some Florence vocals! They blew us away with their sonically charged songs combined with an energetic stage performance. The sound is punky and the set flew by so quickly. Sometimes an unknown band win you over gradually, with Your Army it is instant. "10 Seconds" and "Dance" quickly grab the attention. Guitar riffs rule. The pace is fast and totally unrelenting. "The Long Haul" and especially "Sleeping With Her" totally invigorate my musical heart and soul. Although based on the south coast, it's heartening that local lad Simon is carving out a niche for himself. Always nice to see Bedfordshire people doing well for themselves. Their final song is a major contradiction as it is called "No Good". Oh no, Your Army were superb.

It's early doors to fully judge just how far LECARLA can go. This Milton Keynes quintet include amongst it's number some familiar faces from a popular Leighton Buzzard band of the recent past. Comparisons will invariably be made, certainly here in Bedford. Blonde wafer-thin vocalist Lizzy just appears to be a delicate soul. Tiptoeing on stage through all the manic mayhem created by her trio of guitarists and pounding drums, there is total serenity as she sings amongst the barrage of grungy sounds. "Silent Drive Home" is a mere stepping stone for her. Lecarla serve up their myspace song called "Where Do We Go?". It could prove to be a prophetic title. The sound is gutsy, but can they marry such an angelic voice into the overall band mechanics? This delicate manoeuvre works well on "Uncovered". A beguiling song that eventually gets beautifully bludgeoned by the percussion master. An earbashing delight results. With a forthcomng festival support slot to The Blackout, we watch their progress with interest.

Hitchin's CHARLIE INDESTRUCTIBLE are the sort of band I really shouldn't like. However, what saves them is the spirit, passion, charisma and a fair degree of black humour that fills their set. Technical problems are taken in their stride. An early broken string sees them fill in with an impromptu of "Southern Fried Chicken (whoa yeah!)". Their chirpy vocalist, while busy chatting up all the ladies at the front, frenetically throws himself into each song. "My Sweet Revenge" is their recently recorded myspace offering, while "On My Right" gets the crowd moving. Lively and spirited, thats the 'Charlies'. Emo never sounded so refreshing!

SUNSET RESET are a young quartet from Sandy who feature Harry Christopher (guitar, vocals), Matt Finn (bass, vocals), Matt Sheath (guitar, vocals) and Dan Sheath (drums). Considering their tender years, I was impressed with their stage persona. Of a short set, it is the self-penned and eponymously entitled "Sunset Reset" that is the highlight. A fury of guitar sounds dominate the intro. Their confidence is strong and, thankfully, no pathetic chit-chat between songs that completely ruined last night's young metal night. When will these kids learn? Sunset Reset's cover song is unusual with it being "Another Girl, Another Planet". Peter Perrett would have been impressed by the lads' efforts on his classic composition. They did it justice.