Fresh from their UK support slot for The King Blues, New York punks Cerebral Ballzy are here to tear apart the continuously expanding, rum-fuelled crowd that’s crammed itself into The Macbeth this evening. They’ve come expecting loud, thrashing, dribbling punk rock music, and that’s exactly what they’re about to get.

Static feedback fills the muggy air and a deafening noise seems to shake the very foundations of this tiny venue. Singer Honor Titus confidently swaggers on stage, puts down his drink and picks up the mic. Seconds later he, and the rest of the band, are blasting out their incredibly infectious, super-fast 80s-indebted punk songs to a bunch of people who seem determined to hurt each other. The wild ‘Insufficient Fare’, ‘Junky For Her’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me What To Do’ are brutal enough to start mini riots, and Titus feels the need to clamber over the bodies to perform from the bar.

Gritty street anthems ‘On The Run’ and ‘Cutting Class’ are outstanding – a whirlwind of noise that attacks your eardrums and infects your mind with unbridled lust for the group to bash out song after song. After various other ventures into the crowd, and a couple of stage dives, Honor looks shattered, guitarist Mason has perched himself on top of a speaker, and everyone is drenched in booze and sweat. Cerebral Ballzy sure do put on a hell of a show.

Rob Bramhill