Sunday 11/02/07 Klaxons, CSS, The Sunshine Underground, New Young Pony Club @ Cardiff Solus

Tagged with the dreaded moniker ‘New Rave’ – whether the bands assembled at Cardiff Solus are the figureheads of this dubious movement is anther thing, because the line-up tonight is one hell of an enticing prospect. Electronic quintet the New Young Pony Club kicked off proceedings with vocalist Tahita disgruntled at the low turnout early on. Within minutes people were clambering to the middle of the floor as the salacious ‘Ice Cream’ oozed synth-driven funk with a taut bassline and suggestive verse. The Sunshine Underground were next up, blasting out a kaleidoscope of different sounds switching from ska to punk and then straight up indie. New single ‘Borders’ was the archetypal polished anthem whereas ‘100mph’ pushed its way onto the dance floor via processed bleeps and battered cow bells.

With the crowd already in euphoric sprits, CSS turned the screw that little bit tighter. The Brazilian sextet strode onto the stage in black cloaks before unleashing a mash up of 2 Unlimited’s dross techno beat ‘No Limit’ with their own tune ‘CSS Suxxx’. Barmy lead singer Lovefoxxx bounced erratically around the stage - ducking the mass of glow sticks being launched in all directions. The speeded-up ‘Off The Hook’ outlined the bands more serene take on pop until the indie-disco brilliance of ‘Lets Make Love And Listen To Death From Above’ threatened to lift the roof off the venue.

Headliners Klaxons were pretty much the sole reason why this tour began - spearheading the supposed New Rave movement with tunes clearly influenced by late eighties dance stalwarts Alrten-8 and The KLF but giving them a 21st century gloss. The shrieking ‘Atlantis To Interzone’ summed up the mood - as frenzied dance moves were cut with wide-eyed glee. The band can also produce a cracking pop tone when necessary as the melodic ‘Golden Skans’ had all present singing in unison. A cover of Grace’s mid-nineties house staple ‘Not Over Yet’ was hilarious as much as it was endearing and wrapped up an incredible night of music - regardless of the music genre tags attached to it.