Test-Icicles @ Barfly, 15 Feb

"Tonight is the greatest night of my life!", began Sam Mehran, who along with Devonte Hynes and Rory Atwell make up the Test Icicles, a band currently attracting a lot of hype. Despite the gig being a sell-out, the crowd never seemed particularly enthusiastic about the band, whose debut album 'For Screening Purposes Only' was released last October. Last year, on stage, Devonte ripped his foot to shreds on a bit of broken glass and collapsed, but sadly nothing as exciting as this happened at
Barfly. The band did attempt some mumbled banter, telling everyone at one point to "go and have sex tonight". It's impossible to talk about the Test Icicles, whose music is influenced by metal, hip-hop, and hardcore, without laughing heartily at their name, possibly the silliest ever. Although they were previously called Balls, probably the politest way of describing their music.