Sonic Mook is a welcome long running fixture on the London Club scene. Run by the legendary promoter Sean Mclusky, who has been devising weird and wonderful ways of keeping the punters happy since the Balearic days. Sonic Mook was a long time in resident at Hoxton's 333 club, which was an ideal venue for its scuzzy, punky anything goes ethic. It them moved to the Scala, but the move to the very posh ICA, a place more used to Guardian readers than nutty geezers, is a gamble.
Perhaps the possibilities offered by the ICA were partly realised by the Mute parties held at the venue late last year, indeed Echoboy made an indelible mark on that occasion.
The bar area as usual is rammed full of arty haircuts desperate to catch the attention of the meagre bar staff, getting a drink here is not really on the cards, however at least Barry 7 from Add N To X is on hand to entertain the thirsty throng. Wandering through into the main hall to be pounded by Cristian Vogels' increasingly Teutonic techno you are blasted by refreshingly non-trippy visuals which are splattered over backdrops hung around the walls.
Echoboy take the stage fashionably late, the transition the venue makes from techno club to rock gig in the blink of an eye is seamless, a buzz of excitement starts as the bands lo-end throb reverberates through the crowd. It may seem a little incongruous having a Krautrock influenced guitar group straight after ear bending techno but all worries are put aside as Echoboys' linear bass n guitars are blasted with washes of analogue noise, which whistle and screech around the hall.
This isn't to say that the band don't have their melodic moments, Kit & Holly proves to be a highpoint, with its Spiritualized/Velvets style melody and uplifting chorus. On the whole the Echoboy live experience is infinitely more satisfying than their two albums to date where the tracks tend to meander where tonight they soar. This music needs to be felt surging through your body rather than wafting past your ears.
To follow there is the solid rock that is Andrew Weatherall fresh from the success of his Two Lone Swordsmen project, his inimitable blend of electro underpinned by acres of bass is still a force to be reckoned with, and Keiran Hebden whose unique blend of post-rock, jazz, 2-step and anything else to hand is sure to gain recognition this year with the release of his second album. But me? I am off to battle at the bar.
