Bombay Bicycle Club / Findo Gask @ ABC2 16/04/09

On stage at the ABC2, under the lights and full of energy, Findo Gask are sounding absolutely incredible. Their songs are complicated and smart, a breath of fresh air and something truly worth celebrating. Every one sounds like a single; the rhythms are strict, the chords angular and the pace frantic. It’s not just Glasgow thats sitting up and taking notice of this lot. There’s recently been some label folks over from Japan to watch them play. Don’t be surprised if the next few months sees more label interest. Even arriving halfway through their second song, the band sound great from the lobby.

To paraphrase an Arctic Monkeys album, everything that Findo Gask are Bombay Bicycle club are not. For a start, they look about ten years younger, which they aren’t, but they ooze youth from every pore. Where Findo were slick and tighter than tight there’s something rather rough and messy about the BBC performance. Yet that’s what they’re going for, and oftentimes it works. On ‘Evening Morning’ the stop-start chorus delivers in a big way and, coupled with a driving bass line, works wonderfully live. Others miss the mark and lack the charm to overcome their misgivings but they succeed more than they fail.

BBC’s recent reputation is off the back of new single ‘Always Like This’ and playing it late in the set, the anticipation followed the reaction allow it to stand out. There’s something wonderfully relaxed and almost lazy about it, a song that refuses to go where you expect it to, but there’s strength in that restraint and hopefully a glimmer of the bands true talent. Certainly not the finished article, but an enjoyable set and enough on show to leave us wanting more.

Words: Alastair Mitchell