WET NUNS
with The Jebs, Filthy Visuals and Genna Marabese.

Bedford Esquires Lev 2 Saturday 15th September 2012.

Returning to the main stage are Wet Nuns. Having played here back in March, The Pad Presents pulled off a real coup to get the Sheffield duo back here again. Rob (guitar, vocals) and Alexis (drums) are genuinely pleased to be returning to Esquires as they announce "we had a really good one last time". The stage and room are minimally lit as all eyes are fixed on the duo as they begin with "Good worms". Heavily influenced by The Black Keys, they also remind me of the excellent Winnebago Deal. Wet Nuns exude a grungy Soundgarden-ish blues feel, all with a blatant punk exterior. This chest beating stoner thrust is an irresistable proposition. So nihilistic, they explode into a sonic wall of fearsome heaviosity. Before their stage show the pair had watched all the support bands from their merchandise stall, I like that. One was also spotted wandering around with a large bottle of wine! This is a band for all those people who like their music and performers deep down 'n' dirty. Beards, unkempt hair, loud guitar and detonating drums. Wow, what a combination! I still find it hard to believe when a friend tells me they only made the BBC Introducing stage at Reading Festival. Surely the Lock Up tent beckons next time? The throat splitting vocals are allied to a pounding rhythmic angularity. Hours and hours of practice have honed an almost telepathic understanding. Never is this more evident than on the band's current single "Why you so cold". Watching Wet Nuns in action, it's easy to immerse oneself in the controlled agression and full force of the music. Euphoric climaxes reign supreme for near on forty minutes. They unleash such a visceral and physical torrent of noise that it is a release of anger and frustration. Truly a raw and emotional, primal scream of a set. Once again they offer up their appreciation to the folks of Bedford by finishing off with a very genuine "Thanks for staying up to see us". Then its off in the car, next stop Birmingham.

Beginning our evening are Filthy Visuals. Of all the younger local bands breaking through in the past few months, I have been keeping an eye on this quartet. After their initial bout of covers driven sets they can now project a strong portfolio of self written material. With plenty of 'out of town' gigs to their credit, there's a confident air in the stage presentation. Frontwoman Stef urges people to "move forward a bit". This request is becoming quite regular here (perhaps someone is magnetising the Esquires walls!), but most people duly oblige. "Lilith" impresses, slowly building before developing into a fast catchy tune. "Hearts Playin Game" is the 'epic' one with a big finish. It is definitely my favourite. Filthy Visuals are developing nicely, their charismatic vocalist is so adept at winching the bands' workaday Brit rock strums up to something slightly more glammy, in a punky sort of way. Considering their age group, it's all delightfully off-kilter. Thankfully not predictable, it is just a rudimentary no frills slice of teen life as seen through the eyes of these keen youngsters who call it as they see it. There are massive amounts of unbridled whiplash energy to top it all off.

The Jebs contain all the relevant jangly hallmarks you would expect from a motley bunch of indie loving tykes. They contain faintly 'romantic' airs, faintly 'urban' vocals and faintly 'punky' guitars. They are perhaps overstaffed in the guitar department, a four piece line up would be more compact both in sound and appearance. Again very confident and enthusiastic, the songwriting seems to be still developing. Alarmingly, "Back To The Bear" (where they say it all started) sounds very much like "Two princes" by The Spin Doctors! I am pretty sure thay would not say a "big up" to that old band!

Genna Marabese returns to the main stage after a very lengthy hiatus and it is great to see her back. She fronts this five piece who cryptically rail against conformity. They construct a sound which strives to be awkward, wayward and forward thinking, all at the same time. Very few try it, let alone get away with it. These quality musicians manage it with total aplomb. Very sophisticated in a post punk sort of ideal, the songs change in structure so quickly. They infuse so much musical gravitas that you can feel your heart physically swell. A visionary set and they do their level best to raise our consciousness with unbridled zeal, expertise and intelligence. A neo goth feel just adds to their range of variety.

Wet Nuns set list - You've got good worms, Laura, No death, 7 year itch, Heavens below, I don't wanna see your face anymore, Why you so cold, Girls, Denim axe, Throttle.