The Young Knives

Brothers Tom and Henry Dartnell, the psychologically conjoined double-act at the helm of The Young Knives, are indie’s own Two Ronnies. Hailing from the Midland’s surely-that-name-is-a-joke town, Ashby De La Zouche (just down the road from tonight’s gig in Nottingham, I’ll have you know), it’s unsurprising that the portly duos’ life strategy is based around keeping their tongues lodged firmly in their cheeks.

The peculiarity starts with Tom’s stage name, ‘The House Of Lords’ and the wonderful omnipresence it suggests. Comic bathos, of course, as the man looks more like Harold Bishop framed in a life before moving to Ramsey Street than a foreboding overlord of decimating power. The constant ribbing from his band-mates sews their act at the seams – if you’ve got the crowd laughing (and Nottingham folk usually need a little lightening up), things will usually flow more smoothly.

In fact, it’s going so smoothly that atmosphere in The Social is – Shock! Horror! – afloat and jovial and people are having FUN! After the comedy comes the music, a dangerous privileging when left in the hands of less careful acts (did YOU buy the last Electric Six album? Didn’t think so...), but don’t worry, you can rest easy, as the tunes are clipped and well-timed - just like the gags.

Their choppy indie pop sits pretty in the current climate for angular audios, calling to mind the likes of The Futureheads, but this lot exhume an extra serving of eccentric charm that affords their songs hair-raising falsettos and bent hooks that warp the musical catch you’d hoped for, to a smile-raising ends.

Not many other bands are peddling songs around about a coastguard’s line of duty, but The Young Knives manage it in the not-too-confusingly named ‘Coastguard’, which is even more clever in its non-logic because the bridge snarls make it sound more like they’re trying to write a number for a travelling circuses’ ghost train than soundtrack a life at the beach.

‘Walking On The Autobahn’ sounds like a super-distilled, Bruce Springsteen piss-take, while ‘We Are The Also Rans’ keeps the crowd cheering for alternative music’s new anti-heroes.

Highest praise is saved for the chuffing great ‘Here Comes The Rumour Mill’, which is every indie-boys’ disco wet dream. The people cheer, the people laugh, the people even let loose and have a little dance. The Young Knives may seem like jokers, but you’d be a fool not to take them seriously.

FUTURE GIGS