Youthmovies

Somewhere, buried beneath the layers of sublime noise, a heartstring snaps. My phone buzzes in my pocket. The message is from a friend, stood at the front. “Fuck” is all it says. One word, a multitude of meanings. Today, ‘fuck’ means ‘fucking incredible’.

Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies are a band on fire; a band so near the peak of their potential powers that every second of tonight’s four-song set possesses as much passion as an hour of any hair gel-endorsed nonsense. Yeah, that’s an easy swipe, but utterly valid: YMSS are almost certainly, probably, maybe the greatest live band in the country. No amount of argument from weekly magazine polls or the muso fashion police will change this made-up mind.

Such a statement doesn't come without careful consideration – tonight YMSS are sandwiched between the always awe-inspiring Redjetson and everyone's favourite (only?) glitch-rockers, 65daysofstatic. Both deliver sets worthy of larger venues and bigger crowds; both possess an incredible energy and an all-consuming presence so remarkable that turning away and heading towards the bar simply isn’t an option. The spirit of independence and invention courses through the veins of the ten musicians that comprise this brace of bands, yet for all their greatness and deserved acclaim it’s YMSS who steal this show, just as they did when they supported Hood in Oxford last week… just like they did at the ICA in January… just like they always have.

Fuck, they’re good: opener ‘A Little Late He Staggered Through The Door And Into Her Eyes’ sets a tone that’s maintained throughout, i.e. one of excellence. New single ‘Ores’ is the least ‘proggy’ of their four songs, but its pulsating beats and hand-clap break are by-products of an inventiveness that’s grander than that of any other UK outfit, even those that play alongside them tonight. By the time ‘…Spooks The Horse’ reaches its repeated climaxes, guitars pitched so gloriously high that dogs for five miles must be going mental, aforementioned friend has staggered his way back to our nook of safety.

“They’re amazing,” he says.

Fuck yeah.