Neils Children

It starts with NOIZE.

The NC3’s opening salvo is not a song. It’s a crunching, screeching, thumping thirty-second HOWL designed with one response in mind – to get the fuckers in from the bar. It’s an expert manoeuvre. The call to arms has an immediate effect and the wide expanses of dingy, sticky carpet around me are filled in seconds. Respect, it seems, is due - Neils Children have got this gig thing down.

With a psycho riff that rattles like a broken milk bottle, their first song, ‘Trying To Be Someone Else For Free’, seems to set the tone for the evening. Thematically lurching between anger, alienation and disgust and wrapped up neatly in a taut, three-minute, post-punk package, it’s a satisfying, sneering blast-off. But I can see you stifling your yawns. Angular post-punk? It’s sort of been done, hasn’t it.

Neils Children may not sound incredibly ground-breaking. And on the surface, they’re not. But the songs are strong. ‘I Hate Models’ and ‘Stupid Band’ continue in a similar vein to the opener, equal parts PIL and Gang of Four; they stomp and clatter in a wonderfully mean-spirited, vile fashion. In fact, they’re delivered with such aplomb that it’s something of a shame the outpouring of vitriol and rage is being directed towards such anodyne figures as Kate Moss and The Strokes. Haven’t these kids been watching the news lately?

It would be easy to write Neils Children off as fashionable young pretenders, if it weren’t for several things. Firstly, I like John Linger. He’s a fantastic lead singer – he looks like he’d smash you in the face as soon as look at you. I respect this. Secondly, there’s a weirdness that creeps into their punk songs, something a little murky and darkly psychedelic. As the set continues, acid-fried guitar solos and babbling echo effects speak of the influence of eccentric British psychedelia and, in particular, Syd Barrett. Indeed, these surprising touches are some of the most riveting moments of the set. However, the pedal-geekery also has its off-moments, sapping the set-closer of any real power. It remains to be seen whether they can develop these intriguing threads into a sound thoroughly their own. I for one think they will. Adopt Neils Children now!