Friday 20/04/07 35 Seconds @ The Underworld, Camden, London

35 hours ago the five unlikely looking Birmingham lads assembled on the Underworld stage tonight weren’t even sure whether they were going to be in London, let alone appearing on The Camden Crawl itself. With their concoction of frayed beats, sonorous vocals, electronic tinges, angular guitars and ****ing awesome basslines, 35 Seconds have sailed through every round of Gigwise’s Indie Idle competition to earn their rightful, coveted place on stage tonight. True, the judging panel showered them with superlatives on both yesterday’s demo playback and three song mini session earlier this afternoon, but playing in front of the boozed up Camden Crawl crowd is a different kettle of fish. Luckily they don’t disappoint.

Having hardly ventured further than their Midlands homeland, understandably there’s a palpable sense of anxiety etched on the band’s faces climbing onto stage. But as soon as they launch into their trademark driving bass hooks and boyish-looking frontman Andrew Hickman contortedly belts out his uplifting words, everyone is emphatically won over. Sounding very much a band of the now, but importantly not in the least generic, you’re never quite sure where they’re going to take you. ‘Filth’, as the name implies, is all taught beats and Mew-esque vocals before during the mesmerising breaks the band shift tone and reach euphoric levels, before bowing out with orchestral chimes - the concentration and belief is clear from all of the band, especially hoodied guitar wizard/ songwriter Andy McBurney who very much looks like that bloke from Ultrasound’s long-lost cousin.  

As well as taking us down darker avenues tonight a la the fraught and rapid ‘Walk The Plank’, there are also moments of sheer simplistic pop on display tonight. ‘Youth Club’ serves as a respite to the trickery and genius displayed elsewhere during the set, while the impossibly catchy ‘Dinosaurs’ is delivered with the kind of aplomb you’d expect from a much more seasoned outfit. It’s little wonder that the famously static London revellers are inspired to form a mini-moshpit at the front. But undoubtedly, the highlight of the set comes from the brilliant ‘Grudge Match’, which embodies everything which is great about this band - ever shifting, intriguing and catchy-as-****, it’s a dazzling moment.

Of course, still unsigned, 35 Seconds are by no means the complete articles, there’s still a ****ing long way to go for that - but the potential they exhibit is not merely promising - more, it’s electrifying.