Tuesday 06/06/06 The Research, The Shortwave Set @ Bush Hall, London

It may be the day of the beast, but you really couldn't pick a better repellent than a trip to Bush Hall tonight. While Satan and his minions are running rampant, probably listening to Lordi and generally making a nuisance of themselves, the bands here tonight are hell-bent on brightening things up and reminding everyone that although it might be as hot as hell, this is earth, summer is kicking in and we'd rather have a lush three part harmony than a death rattle any day.

Tonight Bush hall is like the youth club you never went to as a kid. In a room the size of a scout hut, assorted bodies sit around cross-legged and you have to leave the hall for a crafty fag, whilst the attendance includes minor Indie celebrities and n alternative radio DJ. In fact, everyone looks like the kids who went and drunk cheap cider and stole things while everyone else played ping-pong. Luckily for those in attendance tonight, there will be no awkward dancing and sheepish advances, what we have hear is a breeze of harmony, quirky pop and instrument tomfoolery, culminating in sweaty, satisfied bodies and tunes that more than wash the cobwebs away.

The Shortwave Set admit to being a bit rusty tonight, some of their more unusual instruments (is it called a rainmaker?) won't work in the heat and they've had a few too many, but it hardly shows. They peddle a mix of lush boy/girl harmonies, noises dug out of the weird random-but atmospheric pile and pop hooks. 'Repeat To fade' should have been last years laid back summer anthem: gloriously assured throbbing chorus, hushed female vocals. It sounds like Swedish popsters The Concretes having a garden party with Zero 7, and its ace. Likewise, 'In Your Debt' has sampled birdsong, theramin like wails and a wonderful eerie-folk middle, perfect for lying back in the sun and doing absolutely nothing to.

Which is a plan you would struggle to stick to with toe-tappers The Research. Currently holding the title of nicest band in the whole world ever ever, they manage to take the most barebones of equipment, thrash about a bit and let out perfect pop tunes. They harmonize like The Beach Boy/Girls and sound like the feeling you get when the breeze hits your face on a hot day. Budget keyboard player/vox Russell tells offbeat but hilarious tales of life on the road in between tracks and even manages to fit in a rock 'n' roll limb defying stage dismount at the end of the set. The real trump card here is that in Breaking Up they have perhaps the best pop record of the last five years and set about playing more or less the whole thing. Veering from insightful oddball pop 'I say Yeh Yeh' or 'Cmon Chameleon' to heartfelt love-drunk sing-alongs 'I Love You But' via anyone's guess 'Ba Ba Ba'. The Research are the soundtrack to your summer holidays in the sun, your hum-along drives and heartbreaks.