It’s the end of the current tour for Fang Island, who have been doing the rounds over the preceding weeks aided and abetted by No Spill Blood. Hailing from Rhode Island, Fang Island specialize in a type of infectious, no frills guitar music that marks them out as the greatest band on earth. Okay, they’re not the greatest band on earth, but they might well be the most enjoyable band to rock out to on your headphones. The band’s ethos is simple – create the sound of “everyone high-fiving everyone.” While we have no idea how this might sound, if it’s measured through musical notation then this is probably it.

The three-pronged sonic assault that is No Spill Blood takes the stage, and from the alarm tone synth of Good Company it’s a heavy, molten slab of Death From Above 1979 style noise. Drummer Lar Kaye is a hard-hitter, and he and the howling vocal and bass of Matt Hedigan provide the basis for Ruadhan O’ Meara to layer on the colour with his dense synth patterns. It’s a full room from the first notes, as the band tear through the ‘Street Meat’ material, with the synth elevating things, swirling around the venue and grounding back on the solid work of the rhythm section. Crowd surfers are hoyed out of the air by bouncers, but the atmosphere is never anything less than cheerful. Bodies pump in rhythm, and when the band kicks back in after the prog-y breakdown of New Tricks a sea of heads simultaneously rock back and forth on their hinges. A false ending winds down the set, Buckfast makes an appearance, and the band gear up once more to bring things to a conclusion. Go on, the Bucky...

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