Two Wounded Birds
Old Vic Tunnels, London
24/09/2011
 
Whoever said that the key change was the last refuge of the untalented has evidently never heard ‘Together Forever’ by Chatham indie surf foursome Two Wounded Birds. The moment, some three quarters of the way through what only the most generous estimate would put at two minutes, when it switches up a couple of notes to bring their next single to a climax, you can’t help but imagine pints being spilt on indie disco dancefloors from Penzance to Inverness. It’s a fittingly ecstatic climax to a set that seems way more focussed and well thought out than theirs did a few months back. Whereas at The Great Escape in May, for instance, they switched between fast and slow songs, now they  start off slow and bruising, the low slung Link Wray tremelo guitar of ‘My Lonesome’ proving an early highlight, before gradually cranking the speed and intensity up into a froth of Beach Boysmeets Buzzcocks noisepop.
 
The fact they manage to fit in eight or so songs into their allotted time tells you how tantalisingly short each one is. Early single ‘All We Wanna Do’, which starts like The Smiths’ ‘London’ and ends like a boy/girl Ramones covering Buddy Holly, is another in a killer clutch of tunes they already to have to their name. And while yes, they do have a dash of oh-so-trendy surf attitude, they’re more likely to evoke the crisp packet strewn promenades and deserted amusement arcades of out of season Margate than the crisp seafronts of California. Singer Johnny Danger seems too shy to mumble more than a few words from beneath his considerable mop of black hair, but once behind the microphone he’s a thoroughly brooding, menacing presence, and with this gang to back him up, it’s no surprise.

Ben Willmott