Medics - 10th June

Taking influence from local artists such as Your Friends are Architects the four piece pull off the NME indie look perfectly. Armed with skinny jeans, checked shirts and one and a half drum kits the energetic lads take to the stage in a hail of drums and full throttle guitar. The music is tight and feet tappingly good, and as I wait for the vocals to kick in, disappointed, I realise they have started, but are drowned out by the backing band, which unfortunately is the case for most of their set. At only 20 minutes the set is short and sweet, but reflects the individual approach to music that seems to be a favourite of Sussex, a vein explored by Tunbridge Wells HPR in “I am wooden box” which sounds hauntingly similar to Medics “Maps and Charts”. The crowd that they have bought with them are encouraged to dance; joining two german students who perform some strange robotic dancing that surprisingly fits the music really well! Undeniably this group have great energy on stage, and their performance element has improved sevenfold from the shy shuffles on stage of previous years. The instrumentals are fast, catchy and inventive, and I would have loved to hear more, although the lack of vocals serve as a stark reminder, whether due to the volume of the instrumentals or a lack of confidence from the vocalist, that this band are still have some work to do, but are definitely moving in the right direction. 7/10