Another trip to the Water Rats in the metropolis and the latest instalment of the Trash Klub. On the bill this time we had the really quite exceptional Swedish band the Test Pilots with support from south coast psychos Boneyard Breakout. 

Whilst I was desperately excited about the prospect of seeing the former, I must admit that I harboured significantly less enthusiasm for the latter. But, how nice it is to be proven wrong. A band that I too readily this dismissed as a bit punky following their performance at the Psychobilly Freakout festival earlier this year were utterly transformed, in this listener’s eras at least, from the proverbial ugly duckling into the magnificent psychobilly behemoth on display tonight. Now it is entirely possible that I just wasn’t up for the band on that last occasion, but tonight the band’s sound is much fuller and more holistic, bound together by a very robust double bass that makes this group very much a psychobilly band rather than simply a punk band with a slapper. Having said this, the punk traits are definitely still there, as evidenced by the new song that the band debuts tonight, as well as the song that borrows the opening from ‘Pretty Vacant’ and the final song of their set the self-titled ‘Boneyard Breakout’. So, overall, this was quite a superb set from a very welcome addition to the psychobilly scene.

To the stage come, perhaps, the most inventive psychobilly band of the past thirty years. Led by the musical director, bassist and vocalist of the band Mattius, who also orchestrates the whole operation. Standing in on drums tonight is a gentleman who was apparently the original drummer of the Nevrotix, who puts in one of the most exceptionally accomplished performances that I have ever seen! Yes, he really was superb. Which just leaves the guitarist, and what a guitarist!  Anton Erikson, is one of the most humble musicians that you could ever meet, but he is really quite other-worldly in terms of his ability. He is unlike any guitarist ever to grace the scene previously embracing finger-tapping techniques as well as jazz which all combined make the Test Pilots a sort of prog-psychobilly wonder. You will hear nothing else quite like it. Laurence Hawkins, Long Tall Texans guitarist, and certainly no slouch on that instrument himself, remarked to me that every time he hears Anton playing, it just makes him want to give up.

This was a truly exceptional night of music. Yet again the Trash Klub has come up trumps!

Nick Kemp