MARIA DUARTE recommends a remarkable study of the friendship between a Palestinian and a Pakistani, broken by a hostile state
Gaye Bykers on Acid
100 Club
SAMPLES aplenty, psychedelic riffs, sly lyrics, wizard like guitarists and selling their soul to rock ‘n’ roll, this Bykers gig at the 100 Club is a veritable trip to the 1980s Grebo scene, but also a testament to how much fun the four piece were and are.
Kicking off with a sample of the film intro from A Clockwork Orange, the band launch into TV Cabbage and are immediately in their groove. That’s all the more impressive as they have a stand in guitarist Tom Stanley subbing for Tokyo-based founder member Tony Byker whose guitar licks are suitably psychedelic and hard to emulate. Tom excels.
There follows a 17-song set that veers from standard indie punk to thrash metal and dance rock that brings to mind a clash of music genres, but all go down well with the committed fan base.
Stand-out treats include Shoulders, written as a tribute to the fans that followed the band from gig to gig and Zen Express which takes 1960s guitar riffs and crosses them with a punk edge.
New releases from The Mountains Goats, Ed O’Brien, and YHWH Nailgun
MIK SABIERS revels in a band that ploughs an idiosyncratic furrow of expletive laden, guitar-driven alt rock
New releases from Kneecap, Sam Blasucci, and Juni Habel
New releases by Porridge Radio, The Cribs, and Bjorn Meyer



