Holy Fuck/Kelpe- Kings College London 18 October

The first time INFTC saw Holy Fuck, it was as a barely advertised add-on band in a sweaty, dirty nightclub to a few gurning clubbers who had lost their mates on the way to the bar. Now, a year on, it’s perhaps a little surprising that the band have sold out a headline show at the relatively large Kings College Union. They may not boast the hits or even accessibility of many of their contemporaries, but one thing is clear when seeing them live- they are certainly interesting and experimental enough to hold attention unwaveringly.

First though is minimalist electronic duo, Kelpe. Despite their very basic set up of a drummer and a, er, guy behind a laptop, the two piece create a pretty spectacular sound of trebly waves and harsh glitches which soundtrack their mesmerising backdrop of visuals.

As the venue swells to its sweating, bulging capacity, the time finally comes for the main attraction. Holy Fuck start with a long, spacey build up that grows and grows before igniting into a full on, unashamed rave filled with raw disco synth blasts and an incessant, whirlwind drum beat.

From this point onwards, Holy Fuck find their rhythm straight away and usher the audience under the spell for the rest of the set. Whether carving out little subtleties, expanding on their recorded versions or seemingly improvising- the band are constantly locked in with one another and seem as musically tight as it is possible to be.

Half way through the set, the band play what seems to be a new song. With a build up that sounds like Kraftwerk tweaking the robotic dial on a Pink Floyd song, the band all suddenly stop with a bang and then break into a brilliant Michael Jackson style funk workout. The powerful groove has the crowd doing the pilled-up Shaun Ryder dance to what is, naturally, great effect.

It’s the songs from latest album “LP” that get the greatest response from the crowd. “Super Inuit”, for example, is accentuated in the live setting to a monstrous bombardment of fast plinky plonky keys, eager drum rolls and the odd bleep punctuating it all. “Frenchy’s”, meanwhile, becomes a stomping tour de force which has the crowd mesmerised.

The two main minds behind Holy Fuck, Graham Walsh and Brian Borcherdt, are- as always- captivating. They face each other behind their tables piled with musical gadgets and play off one another whilst bouncing enthusiastically. Walsh seems in his element creating music live- weather he’s pulling out rolls of film to create a strange scratching sound or singing into a tiny toy microphone so that his voice distorts into an effect laden, echoing yell- he is, as well as the band as a whole, exciting and hypnotising to watch.

As the slot draws to it’s conclusion, the band play what is by far their most popular and accessible song, “Lovely Allen”. With the gorgeous, wind pipe style melody and the bright flashing lights, the room is turned into a blissed out scene of dancing and smiles.

Tonight, Holy Fuck have proven they’re more than worthy headliners of such venues. They are all the things that make them great on record- mesmerising, captivating and unique- only, in a live situation, they are beefed up almost beyond recognition to become something even more exciting.

http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck

Holy Fuck- “Lovely Allen” (Daytrotter Session)

Holy Fuck “Casio Bossa Nova”