The Boyfriends

Bastards.

The Boyfriends make no secret about their influences, so when No Tomorrow - from Angular Records compilation Rip Off Your Labels - kicks in with the all-too-familiar Stephen Morris drums and Peter Hook bassline, their attempt at re-writing Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart is far too apparent. Hmm, pop will eat itself indeed.

Cheeky bastards.

While not all the members here are strangers to the stage, vocalist Martin Wallace (extremely tall, bald head) only played his first gig a year ago. It’s surprising how easily he’s slipped into the frontman role, even dedicating a song to himself at the end of the set (it’s called I Love You. Barf!). Amusing? Yes. Arrogant? No, not at all – this is lovely indie schmindie pop music after all and when they’re not ripping off moody gits from Manchester they’re ripping off The Smiths… oh, hang on a minute… oh and what’s this? Bassist David Barnett (he of one-time Suede management team and author of Love And Poison) has what he eagerly tells DiS is a “visual prop” or words to that effect. He is dressed as Adam Ant in the Prince Charming video. The Boyfriends don’t sound like Adam Ant. But they do sound a little like Suede. I’m very confused.

“This is all shite,” you might opine. “Piss off back to your Venetian Snares collection then,” DiS might DiSmissively reply, ‘cos when you feel like a good night out watching a band – shock – enjoying themselves, playing music it’s frankly easy to like, in front of a sizeable crowd all happy and smiling and probably quite drunk (even at these Soho prices), then you could do far worse than go to a Boyfriends gig. It’s not going to change your life, but it might make it a bit more bearable.

And their name is ace too.