British Sea Power

The Bivouac Club, held in a tiny upstairs room at The Duke Of Wellington, is rammed. The crush for the bar is becoming ugly, there’s broken glass everywhere, and condensation is cascading down the windows. Into the anarchic atmosphere, stride British Sea Power, nearing the end of a stamina-sapping tour, and the end of a year which has seen critical praise for debut album _‘The Decline Of...’_, a Jools Holland-scaring appearance on ‘Later...’, and a forthcoming support tour to no less than The Strokes.

Tonight finds the Brighton bird watchers on brilliant form, opening with an elegant take on the epic ‘Fear Of Drowning’, before burning through _‘Apologies For Insect Life’_, and crash landing into the New Order-gone-New Wave _‘Spirit Of St Louis'_. Lincoln goes politely nuts for a band who look, and probably are, nuts.

It’s not just the branches, the plastic owls, the smocks nor even their dribbling, tin-hatted keyboardist (who will from time to time, wobble around the stage with a big fuck off drum). No, it’s in their eyes. Look into these eyes and there’s nothing there. Nothing... Nothing... Well scary...

Indeed, BSP have their dark side, manifesting itself in a nerve jangling ‘Blackout’ and set closer ‘Lately’ which descends into a near 20 minute, discoelectrodubpunkheadfuck which sees guitarist Noble carried around the room on one punter’s shoulders, and Yan crowd surfing his way around the room screaming his head off at all and sundry. Chaos rules once again.

Tonight we see BSP at their very best, dipping, nay, drowning, in a creative well of eccentricity, song writing and punk pop suss. God only knows what Noo Yawk’s finest are going to make of this lot...