After being highly impressed by their brace of funky post punk singles, Front Yard Flamingo, opening the set tonight and the magnificent Miss Behave, I finally managed to haul my arse along to a Junk Pups gig. Last night they were sandwiched on a bill in Mono between Pinc Wafer & Lloyds House, and while both of them played strong sets, I’m going to focus all my attention on the extraordinary talents of Junk Pups.
I believe you could still count the number of gigs the band have played on both hands, despite this, they already have the assured confidence of a band that has been playing the circuit for a lot longer.
I can’t review this band without highlighting the extraordinary vocal talents of lead singer and guitarist Jack Faulds. Jack has an incredible voice that has to be heard to be believed, especially from someone so young, he has a wonderfully warm gruff and soulful timbre, a rumble interjected with occasional primal howls and yelps.
The other element I feel I need to highlight is the accomplished funky post punk bass playing by Dylan Hutton, a solid and exhilarating throb that pulses through your body and underpins the bands sound. A fact borne out when I heard the opening strains the bass line to Psycho Killer, as the band took the lead and played a, well, killer version of the Talking Heads classic.
It would be entirely unfair of me not to mention the other band members Ishi putting in a powerhouse performance on the drums, throwing everything into it, taking no prisoners. And then of course, Lucy Sloan looking suave, cool and relaxed as she throws shapes while wrangling sweet sounds from her guitar.
And what of that sound? If you’ve heard the two singles so far you’ll know of the all out disco funk/angular post punk leanings. Elsewhere the band plough a strong furrow into sleazy garage rock with just a hint of rockabilly, while other songs have a proclivity for a punked-up bluesy feel.
The set was assured and mesmerically enthralling, and all too short. Just as I was getting in the groove, they were playing their last song. But better to have a short and perfectly formed set rather than overblown and overlong.
Junk Pups have a bright future ahead of them, I’m so glad I finally managed to see the band, rest assured, I’ll be making every effort to get along and see them again, and will be following their progress with a keen interest.