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Crammed behind jumble of keyboards, guitars and teen tiny synths lurk The Mobius Band, waiting to launch their jerky synth-rock on the crowd. 'A Hint Of Blood’ masks a sneer in singer Peter Sax’s voice echoing The Walkmen with a serious electro bent. Twiddling the synth knobs like a miniature-mixing desk Noam Shutz conjures sublime noises, before drenching them in a mess of fuzzy feedback. ‘Haillie’s Hot Chip beats gets the shoe gazing shufflers started, building slowly to a hip shaking climax. Hopping awkwardly between foot pedals and keyboards joint vocalist Ben Sterling flings himself around the tiny stage. While super catchy ‘Friends Like These’ manages to throw in cod reggae beat without becoming too teeth-gratingly cheesy. As Tokyo Police Club members bounce along by the side of the stage it’s clear their quiet revolution is gaining them fans in all the right places.
Building straight into a rampaging screeching ‘La Ferassie’, Tokyo Police Club have arrived. Whispering sugar sweet vocals over driving drums David Monk leads them through ‘In a Cave’ at breakneck pace. Already the heat is becoming unbearable as more bodies pile forward. By The Strokes riffs and handclap drums of ‘If It Works’ the sweats steadily drips off guitarist’s Josh Hooks bouncing fringe. Classic lines made for bar room sing-alongs, ‘we got our nerves of steel, balaclavas go on’ they spin stories about lives of crime and the confusions of growing up. Playing songs from their ‘A Lesson In Crime EP’ and new album ‘Elephant Shell’ the crowd seem to know every word regardless, singing along from invisible song sheets. The rallying cry ‘give us your vote’ signals ‘Your English Is Good’ as people scramble for vantage points, climbing over pianos, tables and each other. The energy crackles electric as Greg Alsop's scattergun drums drill ‘Citizens of Tomorrow’ in to the floor, surrounded by swarms of Graham Wrights feverish, buzzing keyboards. Bouncing of the sweat stained walls ‘Nature Of The Experiment’ ramps the energy back up, building to a scrabbling rock out as guitars and hands fade into a hazy blur. Almost ready for collapse under the lights and sweltering heat they bravely struggle on.
‘Cheer It On’ makes for the perfect final flourish, with masterstroke of getting the crowd hollering “Tokyo Police Club” at the tops of their lungs in the chorus. The shimmering guitars pierce the air for one last euphoric gasp, before drowning in a sea of feedback. With bleak visions of a robot-dominated future their messages are subliminal and simple, ‘citizens of tomorrow be forewarned’, ‘the futures ours’. Ready yourselves for the invasion.
