The Bug Club A Joyous Intensity

If you are anything like me, when a band comes from your home area, then you feel a protectiveness towards them and, like watching your kids go off into the world, experience a mix of pride and nervousness hoping that all will go well and that they will thrive. Of course you can revel in that sense of commonality all you want, but the feelings of warmth will quickly be extinguished if the band can’t deliver. There’s no need to worry on that score, as The Bug Club brings a joyous intensity to warm this sullen Welsh heart.

Sam Willmet fires out riffs drenched in bluesy rock and roll but with a modern freshness to them, alternating these with whip-smart solos. I needn't have worried about the departure of long-time drummer Dan Matthew, as Tom Rees, who produces all of The Bug Club’s records, took up the sticks and ensured that the band's quick rhythms were definitely to the fore.

Songs come along quickly, tumbling into each other like two kids running down a hill, with very few tracks coming in over three minutes. The band's songs explore the quixotic ephemera of modern life: haircuts, mothers, marriage, art, pints, and James Bond, and they bounce along with a unique humour. Driving the sound is the incredible, watchable bass player Tilly Harris, who swaggers around the stage like a South Walian Angus Young, head pecking, face beaming as she and Sam feed off each other's energy and keep the infectious joy flowing.

It’s easy to look around at the world and feel somewhat gloomy, but perhaps it’s rock and roll that will save us all, and if so, The Bug Club will be at the front of the charge.

Ian Street heard The Bug Club at Hebden Bridge Trades Club