Ten Kens/ Educated Animals @ London Metro

After releasing what is one of the finest, yet largely overlooked and underrated, albums of the year with their self titled debut effort, Ten Kens have managed to squeeze in a couple of UK dates away from their homeland of Canada. Perhaps it’s a sign that the band are playing this scutty venue in the underbelly of the London music scene that saw very early shows from the likes of Bloc Party, The Libertines and Kings of Leon, or maybe it’s this kind of half empty, piss stained, so-quiet-between-songs-you-feel-scared-to-breath hell hole that Ten Kens are destined for. Hopefully not. Time shall tell. Read on.

First we must all endure a blast of slightly ridiculous bombast from Educated Animals. Led by a singer who may or may not be the love child of Feeder’s Grant Nicholas and ex-Libertine Carl Barat, the band flit between shuffling and coughing nervously between songs and flinging their heads back during their stadium yearning rock pop ballads. Educated Animals sound like the Enemy if only they were concerned with the intricacies of the music of the Killers rather than the hard working plight of being 18 years old. Despite lacking any great originality, owning a pub band image and the charisma of a group of goldfish, this lot are probably exactly the kind of band that the public would lap up and, despite everything said here, they will probably go on to conquer the world.

Eventually the time comes for the headline band and it gradually becomes clear that the bunch of roadies setting up equipment are not actually roadies but are, in fact, “stars” of the night, Ten Kens. It’s with a slight shock that we learn that the singer, the owner of such a delicate and haunting yet powerful vocal range, looks like an American football playing, scary-as-shit nu metaller. Donned in a tight baseball cap, a tight fitting t-shirt- obviously designed to exaggerate his stupidly big “guns”- and baggy trousers, he politely introduces the band before getting on with the gig. It’s in these situations, though, that phrases about judging books by their covers and looks being deceiving become appropriate.

As bearded guitarist, Dean Tzenos, tickles his instrument ever so delicately, creating a tingling feeling throughout the suddenly intrigued and captivated room, the bass and drums eventually come crashing in to what is the set, and album, opener “Bearlight”. This thundering, menacing song broods back and forth, reaching spine chilling climaxes and racing through powerful interludes.

Throughout the set, Ten Kens play off one another with what seems to combine a great flair of improvisation with a solid and tight core. The band create dark, epic songs that meander dangerously from one direction to another without ever losing focus. During the last song, “Refined”, Ten Kens go from an almost playful rhythm to a haunting, Radiohead like interlude before finally, at the gut smacking peak, pummelling their instruments in a dark and heavy climax before, suddenly, it’s all over.

Ten Kens made a good decision tonight in keeping their set short, especially with a lot of the audience appearing unfamiliar with them, as it was with a hard hitting slam of a grunge freakout, rather than a flaky finish, that they bowed out with and the crowd remember. Ten Kens proved tonight that they are a band of incredible talent, especially live and raw, and if there’s any justice in the world, the next few years will see them snowball from understated strength to strength.

www.myspace.com/tenkens

“Ten Kens” is out now. It is great.