Two years ago, with just two tracks online, Indoor Pets were part of a bill showcasing Kent talent, playing to just over a dozen people in a pub in Maidstone. Now the Sittingbourne lads are Radio 1 regulars, and this show is sold out.
First, Chesterfield’s Trash deliver a mixture of lush dream pop and sprightly neo-psychedelia, skillfully melding the nostalgic and the timeless.
Indoor Pets walk onstage to the theme from Bojack Horseman, and it’s apt, as just like the show it doesn’t take much digging beneath the sunny exterior to find skin-crawling anxiety and depression. Their summery beach-grunge tunes are played with manic fervour, singer Jamie Glass an absolute camp joy to watch onstage.
‘Teriyaki’ and ‘My Oh My’ open the set, utterly immediate pop tunes, as sweet as they are bitter. Along with their already impressive repertoire, three new songs are given an airing, one of them an effective slow-burner, the other two catchy as hell, just like everything else they put their name to. ‘Mean Heart’ and ‘Cutie Pie, I’m Bloated’ are rapturously received, while ‘I Would’, recent single ‘Barbiturates’ and closer ‘Pro Procrastinator’ are grunge-pop marvels; ‘Barbiturates’ in particular is remarkably moving, with Jamie screaming “my brain is no health inspector”, while ‘Pro Procrastinator’ proves you totally can slam dance to a pop song.
And when they come back onstage for the unplanned encore of ‘I Am the Hot Air’, Jamie confesses “I never wanted to be in the band that walks offstage then immediately comes back on.” Let’s hold him to that when his band inevitably takes over the world.
‘Barbiturates’ is available on all streaming and digital platforms now, head here for more information.
For updates on TRASH, head to their Facebook and Twitter.
For updates on Indoor Pets, head to their Facebook and Twitter.
