Chew Lips

My Tiny Robots, tonight's nominated preamble, are an appropriate act to kick things off, if only in name. The Leith ensemble give a rather awkward and self-conscious account of themselves, switching between instruments—guitars, bass, synth, drums, trumpet, melodica, maracas and ukulele—at every opportunity, but the phalanx of instruments fails to disguise their lack of showmanship. Only their lead singer, Dylan Childs, possesses the charm and charisma to warrant the audience’s attention.

Conversely, Glasgow four-piece Boycotts present themselves as a well oiled indie-disco machine. The female vocals have the requisite alt-rock toughness without being angry or angst-ridden, and are backed by snappy high-hat beats and overdriven, fidgety guitars, with bassy disco-funk rhythms. The songs are designed to get the heart pumping and the foot tapping, and they duly succeed. By the time London-based Chew Lips arrive on stage, Edinburgh’s smallest venue is packed, sardine style.

The band is comprised of lead singer Tigs, flanked by Will Sanderson and James Watkins. Drums and bassline, most of which are pre-programmed and sequenced, are augmented by glitchy, 8-bit synthesisers for the duration of the set, although Sanderson and Watkins will find occassion to pick up a guitar or bass to add some buzz and errancy. Tigs’s vocals exhude a pop appeal in keeping with presupposed peers like Little Boots, or a latter-day Kylie Minogue. More than any other instrument, the use of drums can affect the on-stage energy of a band, and although programmed drums blend well with synthetic music, the atmosphere ultimately suffers without having someone banging the kit. Fortunately, that’s the only area where the band lack energy. Tigs skips happily to cyber-bleeps, while the boys convulse to the beat as if receiving well timed, miniature electric shocks.

The stand-out song from the set is Salt Air, the uplifting melody of which provides a refreshing contrast to the dance-punk claustrophobia that dominates much of their set. Amongst all of the blips, bleeps and squelches, the chance for some breathing space is welcome.