Jopy/Lemonsuckr/King of May, Green Door Store, Brighton review - exhilarating showcase for new young guitar bands

There’s something exhilarating about seeing bands right at the very, very dawn of their careers. Will they be headlining the Houston Astrodome in five years’ time or working in chip shops? It’s all to play for. But it’s right now that counts. Of course, it only feels that way if they’re any good. When they are, it peps the spirit.

This evening is a showcase by Brighton label Goo Records. Only a couple of years old, they’ve built a reputation by firing out solely singles and EPs, career kick-starting releases for an array of guitar bands. Their best-known act is light-hearted, sportswear-friendly indie outfit, Welly. In fact, only headliner Jopy is theirs, but all tonight’s bands are loosely affiliated, and the GOO banner hangs at the back of the stage.

First on is London outfit King of May (pictured left). This lot’s indie rock is not for me. They lay on a couple of tuneful slowies, and have a notably fly guitarist with the excellent rock star name of Fabi Cortez, but they seem visually and musically unformed and, unfortunately, remind me slightly of The Fratellis. It’s so much harder going these days for young musicians. Making any economic headway is virtually impossible. Thus, gone are the days when flaying them in print seems OK. Let's save that for those who’ve made it further! I’ll leave it there and wish them luck.

Next are Lemonsuckr (pictured below right), a Brighton band whose origins lie around Guildford. They look as if they’ve popped in from 1979, but their sound is less easy to pinpoint, choppy, spiky, post-punky, but with splashes of Middle Eastern-scaled riffing, and driving programmed electronic rhythms at the back. The exude a mesmerising dynamic energy.

Frontman Guy Ferris first appears wearing an oversized P.I. trench coat and Russian fur hat, all of which he soon casts off, jerking violently about, owning the stage. Beside him two guitarists are arrayed, respectively, in a leather box jacket and a tie over undone shirt collar, both wrenching their instruments about with a visceral, po-faced ferocity.

I don’t know their songs. One stands out, with a chorus that runs “Let’s dance the dance”. They may need more catchy ones to go next-level but they have blistering stage presence, the music possessing a choppy danceable energy. And they are tight, tight, tight, stopping and starting songs with exactitude. They have about them an already-on-second-album confidence, as if they know they’re ahead in the race.

Headliners Jopy (pictured below left) are even riper’n’readier to hit bigger stages (we’re in a 170-capacity space tonight). They are named after guitarist-singer Jo Parnell who fronts the Brighton three-piece with zesty attitude. She wears a London Calling tee-shirt, atop long, bare legs that jaunt around, rarely still, as she attacks her instrument.

Bassist Clown Baby has the make-up to match their name, wearing a Black Flag tee, leather trousers, their hair sprayed out but with a top-knot. Although I saw them laughing and joking with friends in the crowd earlier, onstage they wear a pouting sullen expression which works a treat. Both Parnell and Clown Baby exude gothy vibes but drummer Louis Relf is dressed casual, in glasses, which fall off at one point, to be retrieved by stage crew. He’s impressively skilled, providing rhythmic foundations on which the trio build their primitive-styled rock’n’roll.

The main comparative references here are The Cramps, The Cramps and The Cramps. And yet Jopy are no rockabilly trash band. Sure, songs such as “Planet Zombie”, “Monster” and the goofy cannibal gourmet of “Head Hunters Pub and Grub” are imbued with the same twangy garage-band-vs-Fifties-B-movie DNA, but they also have a more melodic indie song sensibility and there’s an LGBT empowerment aspect too; “Ka Ka Killer” is a righteous sneer at entitled transphobic men. “They want to kill us dead/They want to give us head”, runs the repeating final chorus. Whatever the subject matter there’s a certain lyrical wit.

New songs such as “Whack-a-Mole” hold their own against more established cuts (New songs! They’re all new songs! These bands are in their very early twenties). On “Twisting”, we’re encouraged to do the twist, although the Gallon Drunk-esque guitar stomp doesn’t much encourage it. As “Honey the Vampire” draws to its end Parnell and Jopy’s bassist explode into an extended shredding instrumental meltdown. Throughout the set, all three of them emanate a rampaging, kinetic thrill at what they’re doing and it’s contagious. Happily, so are a bunch of their songs. Throughout this night there’s a zinging vitality in the air. It leaves everyone wanting more. Much more.

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Below: Watch the video for "Planet Zombie" by Jopy