British Sea Power

British Sea Power may be ubiquitous within certain noisy-indie circles, but they’ve yet to make a ignificant breakthrough. Musically, there’s not a major gulf between, say, Interpol and British Sea Power, yet the former are widely credited with reinventing the wheel, and the latter remain in the shadows.

Bedecked in World War 1 military garb and exhibiting what looks like a neat sideline in taxidermy, British Sea Power are certainly a sight to behold. Truth be told, their crowd weaving, backflipping wigouts onstage tonight make Interpol’s last Dublin show seem positively staid. And that’s saying something.

As for the music – unmistakeably reminiscent of Joy Division – it’s as taut as the dead stuffed animals littered about the stage. It’s all very loud, joyously so, even…yet crucially, there is a distinct lack of a truly cracking tune. In the context, it all boils down to the spectacle, and whilst that all-important breakthrough anthem appears to have been lost in the post, the boys certainly know how to leave a curious audience dazed and bemused.

Although BSP seem slightly out of synch with today’s musical Zeitgeist, they clearly have something to offer. How far it’ll take them is another question.