Everything appears to be going rather swimmingly for The Boyfriends at the moment - a feature in free daily tube rag Metro (no relation to tonight's venue), a smattering of single of the week reviews for latest release 'I Love You', and following Morrissey turning up at tonight's show to check them out, a support slot on the grumpy one's UK tour.

However, while the majority of people here tonight have come for the headliners, there's an intriguing support line up, starting with The Sweethearts. A more aptly named band there never could be (unless of course Embrace decided to switch their moniker to became The Beige) - The Sweethearts simple ukulele based songs are sweet, simple and utterly charming, conjuring up images of 50's seaside postcards and playground love. It's as twee as Belle and Sebastian's cardigans, but immensely enjoyable nonetheless.

Swimmer One are quite another kettle of fish altogether, peddling a dark, apocalyptic synth rock sound. It's a lot more polished than their predecessors on stage, but lacks their affable presence, and ends up leaving me feeling rather cold and distant.

Next up are Luxembourg, a band I've seen play so many times over the last couple of years that I'm beginning to lose count. No matter though, as in that time I've yet to go to one their shows and not enjoy it. These are songs that stand up to repeated listening and if anything seem all the more thrilling despite the familiarity. So I smile and bounce and shuffle and toetap and sing and laugh through another half hour of pop noir gems, take in the swooping keys, soaring vocals and rousing guitar lines, all the while wondering why on earth no-one has taken a chance on them yet and given them a record deal.

The Boyfriends have had a similarly long wait for their crack of the whip, but their time it seems is finally at hand. Tonight they are truly startling, plying the crowd with their vintage indie guitar tunes, sounding both timeless and fresh. The big cheers come for 'No Tomorrow', the track which first brought The Boyfriends to the public's attention on the Angular Records 'Rip Off Your Labels' compilation, ushering in a top singalong moment; but this is a set of great depth. 'Brave Little Soldiers' will always be a song that I hold dear to my heart for helping me through a difficult time in my life, and new single 'I Love You' swirls around the walls of the Metro with its maelstrom of a riff.

As the set reaches its close, bassist David peels off his jacket to reveal a heroically offensive t-shirt, before passing his instrument to Jim Rhesus, who had snuck onstage from the front row of the crowd and disappearing.

By this time, Morrissey was watching on from the side entrance, and I could swear I saw a flicker of a smile cross his lips, and if they can make Britain's most celebrated curmudgeon happy, just think what they could do for you.

www.theboyfriends.com - Download 'No Tomorrow'
www.luxembourgweb.co.uk - Download an acoustic version of 'The Exhibitionist'
www.swimmerone.co.uk
The Sweethearts - www.myspace.com/lesamoureux

Review & Photos by Paul Madden