Comanechi @ Captain's Rest, 18 Jan

The Captain's Rest is compact, cosy and always perfect for its frequent louder gigs. This is especially true when they're packed to the gills like this one, and on a Monday night no less. First up come Holy Mountain, borrowing their name from the seminal psychomagical film by Chilean visionary director Alejandro Jodorowsky. A capable drum-guitar instrumental two-piece, the boys somehow successfully sandwich a short set of hook-laden doom dirges between two Jimi Hendrix covers. Is it possible to be cheeky and irony-free at the same time? Apparently so.

Next comes Divorce, whose sturm und drang inspires a delightful consternation in such close confines. Armed with some new-ish material, the quintet literally pulverise the ears into submission and cause severe heart palpitations amongst several newcomers in the sweaty throng of supporters. Someone call 999.

Out-of-towners Comanechi come correct with their balls-out take on powerpsych strangeness. Comprised of guitar scientist Simon Petrovich and vocalist/drummer Akiko Matsuura (also of London noise miscreants PRE), the duo deconstruct the foundations of rock with desperate abandon, alternating between skeletal riffage and effects-drenched spheres of chaos. The steamy vocals drift in and out between periods of catchy heaviness, and the between-song banter, which covers everything from unprotected sex to dodgy curries, is delivered in adorable Engrish aphorisms. These daredevils may look harmless and dainty, but their cuddly exterior hides a formidable underbelly, one which demands their sound be swallowed straight up with no mixer, all in one big gulp. [Eric Ledford]