toy guns, THE electric city, hungover stuntmen and more

Their boy band looks and clean, chiming guitar anthems go down well with the crowd, suggesting a potential to galvanise Radio 1 and 2 playlists. BLUEBIRD KID CLARK have been impressing audiences up in Manchester with a sound which (according to their Myspace) “makes the Magic Numbers sound like Nick Cave”. Ignoring my hunch that this may not have been intended as a compliment, their melodic, Americana-influenced pop is soothing and indeed, hummable (of course if you prefer abrasive and vicious to pleasant and hummable, stick to the Future Of The Left album). Third up to bat are TOY GUNS, whose trilby-sporting singer suggests that they might be Doherty-obsessed Dublin Castle types. However, their sound is nearer to that of the Dead 60s, with skankable basslines and hook-laden ditties being their weapons of choice. They also take the chance to inject their name repeatedly into one of their songs, showing an opportunist streak learned from The Clash. This air of self-promotion extends to the penultimate band THE ELECTRIC CITY, whose signature tune is somewhat predictably titled ’Electric City’. They seem the most trend-savvy of the five tonight with an indie-disco style in thrall to The Rapture. They are mostly passable, and need to develop their own voice to break the mould. Confusions over running order means that HUNGOVER STUNTMEN perform to a vastly reduced crowd, which probably comes as a shock having recently supported Paul Weller. They are the closest thing to a finished article of the night’s bands, with exuberant indie-pop anthems aplenty. Fitting neatly between The Subways and Good Shoes, they could break out in a big way if things go according to plan…