Already the victims of a legal battle with McDonalds, HMLTD (formerly Happy Meal Ltd.) are undoubtedly the UK’s biggest buzz band and the most thrilling group in the country. With a taste for the avant-garde, they have been hailed as rock’s saviours with their pair of Great Escape shows seeing queues go down the streets. However, with a fresh batch of new tracks to play, the six-piece returned to Brighton to play their largest headline show in the city to date in what was a raucous Friday night.

Art-popsters with the prominence firmly placed on ‘art’, each of the compositions from the 45-minute show were completely different, with absolutely nothing staying still for one moment. Sporting a multitude of brightly coloured hairstyles, fake furs, fishnets, ladies blouses, they look like they’d burgled a theatrical wardrobe and invited the whole of Patterns to their disorderly party. They were crazy in every way possible and it was mesmerising to watch.

Nevertheless, aesthetics are one thing, but this band have the tunes and musicianship to back it up. Each instrument was played to a high standard, with the levels carefully managed to each of their thrilling songs to make them sound as potent as on record. Funk stomper ‘Is This What You Wanted?’ was the first track they ever produced and is now equipped with an intoxicating killer groove. ‘To The Door’, meanwhile, combined a ferocious Tarantino-style spaghetti western guitar riff, trap beats and succulent vocal cries from charismatic frontman Henry Spychalski, who stole the show with his sedative onstage persona. Part Ziggy Stardust/part Adam Ant in both looks and behaviour, he never stood still as he orchestrated his devoted followers to make the venue a hotbed of frantic euphoria.

‘Choo Choo’ was one of the evening’s highlights with its glam stomping line belted out again and again, whilst ‘Where’s Joanna?’ combined a catchy ska beat and unique synthetic meltdown. Opener ‘Music!’ even sampled vintage arcade games. They saved the best for last though with ‘Stained’s destructive rant against morals which came to a head with a fabulous Death Grips sampled dubstep drop.

HMLTD are a band for the modern age who can safely say that there is no one else like them. For every punk twang there is a glam stomp, for each tinge of dub there are hints of obscure samples to sink your teeth into. Bands normally fail to capitalise on their ‘hype’ status but, judging on this multi-sensory experience, this group should manage to do it with aplomb. “What’s the point we’re all the same,” cried Spychalski as the band left the stage. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

Paul Hill

Website: hmltd.org
Facebook: facebook.com/hmltd
Twitter: twitter.com/hmltd