And if you thought that was effusive praise, you ain't seen nothing yet, for here come Twisted Charm. I've not seen this band in well over a year, and the intervening time has certainly done them a lot of good. Their extreme take on no wave mixed with danceable punk funk has a polarising effect on the audience - sending those of a more sensitive disposition fleeing, while the dance floor explodes into a writhing mass of jerking limbs. And note the use of the term dance floor, not mosh pit - this is an important difference, for however brutal the shards of guitar flying from the stage may be, the rhythm section and the skronking sax are aimed squarely at the feet, turning what could in the wrong hands have been a testosterone fuelled display of aggression into a fervent display of joy.

But however hard we dance off stage, we're never going to match the furious energy displayed on it. Nathan Doom twitches and stares, spitting out his lyrics, his brother Dominic smashes out breakneck double time rhythms on the drums, intertwining with Dave's twisty bass. No-one in the room however is expending more energy than saxophonist Luke - he throws himself and his instrument around with scant regard for personal safety, snorting out torrents of liquid noise, blarting out jagged spikes and swirls that at times seem to be controlling him as much as he is them. The sax has had some pretty bad press over the years, having been appropriated and abused by cheesy listening and 80s bands with rolled up suit sleeves and dodgy mullets; but tonight there is no instrument in the world that seems more punk, more vital, more alive.

All that and I've barely even touched on the music, such is the atmosphere of euphoria being stirred in my brain on the memory of this performance. The sound is at once dark and welcoming, it compels the hips and the limbs to move like few other bands around at the moment. It defies conventional song structure and verse/chorus/verse blandness. There are no singalong moments or hummable tunes, just a constant hammering drive that urges you to match the intensity of the sound that is enveloping you.

Twisted Charm are making some of the most remarkable music to be found in the current UK scene. They're never likely to appear on the cover of the NME or inspire a legion of teenagers to copy their haircuts, but that's kind of the point. Twisted Charm are different, they are abrasive, they are puzzling and intriguing and utterly, utterly vital. You may fall head over heels in love with them, you may completely and totally despise them with every fibre of your being; but you owe it to yourself to find out which side of the fence you fall on.

Review by Paul Madden

www.twistedcharm.f2s.com
www.myspace.com/586
www.maxwellsdaemon.com
www.joegallacher.com
www.jeffreyleach.com/nightof1000

Were you at this gig? Talk on the messageboard