mINtSOUTH.com

Baddies,  Science of Eight Limbs + Fresh Legs @ Talking Heads, Friday 26th June 2009.

The night was opened frantically by the advertised headliners Baddies. The Southend foursome explained that they were heading straight to Glastonbury after the set and they didn’t want to risk being locked out of the festival. Some of the music press has billed them as a more frantic Klaxons which I agree with to some extent. For me there was a lot of The Hives in the mix too, with matching outfits and ballsy vocals delivered in a frenzied manner. Finisher and current single ‘Holler for My Holiday’ encapsulated everything this band is about in a frantic 2 ½ minutes. Expect great things from Baddies, who are set to play Bournemouth I Bar on 16th July and Hamptons on 10th September.

Next up were local favourites Fresh Legs who delivered an equally energetic set. The ever-intriguingly dressed frontwoman Ella rocked up in a delightfully ‘Alice in Wonderland’ style dress, ready to lead us on another adventure. Thom’s guitar work outlined the band’s storytelling intentions, his interesting style having a shade of Forward Russia’s Whiskas to it. This band has improved greatly since the first time I saw them and deserve more credit than they are getting. I was disappointed to see only a handful of punters were standing at the front and singing along. Undeterred, Fresh Legs gave a brilliant performance of their latest single ‘Chess’ with Ella’s lyrics easy to understand no matter how fast she was going. The set was brought to an end with a brand new song called ‘Kestrel Guard’ (I think) which saw drummer Karl go into hyper-drive (I’ll spare him the Cadbury guerrilla comparison but you get the picture). Catch Fresh Legs performing at Bestival.

Next up were Netley Abbey twosome Science of Eight Limbs, who describe themselves as ‘minimal massive’. The band does not need words to go with their sound. The outfit features former Rival Joustas member Scott Reynolds on guitar (sporting a lab coat, naturally) and an artist known as MYKKL on drums and keys. SOEL sound part psychodelia, part dance, part funk; whatever it is, it’s amazing. They reminded me of a cross between two childhood memories of mine: my first single, ‘Spaceman’ by Babylon Zoo and the songs from Columns and Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Megadrive. One of many highlights was penultimate song ‘On the Spot’, which was driven by thumping drums and exhilarating riffs, with Scott appearing to actually make love to his guitar. After the set one of the lads in front of me remarked: “They just totally blew my mind. Did you feel the need to close your eyes?” Science of Eight Limbs will play Hamptons on 11th July, Mono on 22nd July and Talking Heads on 12th September.

http://www.myspace.com/baddies
http://www.myspace.com/thosefreshlegs
http://www.myspace.com/scienceof8limbs