“Guitar music is dead!” You can bet your house that every so often when pop music is on top, a piece of lazy writing in a music magazine posits that there are no more good guitar bands – usually accompanied by a quote from an ageing rock star who is hungry for relevance. While just as often, you need only dig a little deeper to discover a scene that is still just as vibrant as ever. Two acts who prove that are Lice and YOWL, the former from Bristol while the latter hail from Peckham. With further support on the night from local favourites Egyptian Blue, this was an evening for the raucous and rowdy.

First up were Egyptian Blue, a Brighton/Colchester band who play in what has become a very familiar genre round these parts – sleazy and grungy psych-garage rock. There was a faint but unmistakeable whiff of Cabbage from these guys (in a good way), even down to the dual vocalists and grumpy persona given off by the lead singer. The band’s sound is underpinned by an awesome beat, the drummer being superb especially. Last year’s ’High The Hyena’ was the standout track, seeming to generate a moshpit from out of nowhere.

Following them were Lice, an art-punk band from Bristol who are managed by the same team who have brought us IDLES. Frontman Alistair Shuttlesworth, appearing to undergo a metamorphosis into a force of nature on stage, his former unassuming style being replaced by an intense and hypnotic presence. With the same vibe as HMLTD, minus the theatricality (with the exception of the boilersuit and cowboy hat-wearing Gareth on bass), the band raced through a terrific set. Shuttlesworth is fantastic as a frontman, wandering into the crowd at points to kickstart a mosh frenzy before strolling back to the stage with an air of “who-me?” innocence. Lice sounded great and perhaps deserved a bit more energy from the crowd early on in the set as it finished just as everyone had warmed up.

On to YOWL, who kicked off with the rolling drum beat of the gonzo country/punk of ‘The Travelling Murder Circus’. Frontman Gabriel Byrde, nearly bent over double and screaming his vocals for much of the show, has more intensity and wildness on stage than has so far been shown on record – which goes for the whole band. There is less control live, and more potency – the feeling that it could all go off at any point. New song ‘Awake’ captures some of the power and fury of IDLES, beginning a small but sustained moshpit for the rest of the short set. ‘Ruby’s Gun' was savage, the band all in a frenzy by its end. Imperceptibly, the night changed. As if guided by a secret signal, the crowd became fully engaged instead of being mere observers and it lifted off from there. ‘Saturday Drag’ had the biggest reaction, before the incendiary ‘Darkroom’s fiery finale. With most of the band in the midst of the moshpit for the final song, all lines between crowd and stage were wiped clean and a short but sweet set was over all too soon.

YOWL are an exciting addition to the DIY/underground scene. The next step for them is to capture some of that in a recording studio, in the same way that Up The Bracket showed the ramshackle magic of The Libertines or Brutalism did for IDLES. Is guitar music dead? Is it hell. You just need to look for it. The rewards for finding it on nights like this remain immeasurably special.

Jamie MacMillan