The Whips frontman Bruce Carter served his musical apprentice as a member of The Clint Boon Experience. When the ex Inspiral Carpets keyboard player rejoined his old band he formed Nylon Pylon. From the ashes of the Pylon a new fresh sound emerged in his latest incarnation The Whip.

Their album "X Marks Destination" was recently released and while similar electro based bands like Klaxons, Ting Tings, The Go Team and NYPC have entered into the mainstream quite easily, Oldham's The Whip have struggled to achieve similar success. Perhaps this is due to the non image the band have. While the music is vibrant, exciting and futuristic, visually there is very little on offer. There's no effort made on a decent light show or any showmanship from the band with the only glamour to be found with the cute female drummer Fi. In Fact Martin looks like he's just woken up with his bedhead and tired face. His vocals really throaty and raspy like a 40 a day Bernard Sumner. The similarities to New Order don't end there. Some of the bass lines recall Peter Hook so much that he could probably sue for copyright. Still these four members of the Whip have some really great songs to make up for any lack of fresh ideas.

The beats of techno and the rock guitars make a brilliant fusion of technology versus more tradition instruments. A lot of the songs have Radio 1 playlist written all over them and the beat in the venue is almost unbearably hot but no one seems to care until a cloud of smoke from a speaker is bellowing out from a small fire on stage. The band retreat to the safe heaven of the dressing room while the small matter of putting the flames out are seen to. Mere moments later the band re-appear to belt out some more floor fillers like the euphoric "Save My Soul" and the scuzzy frankly filthy and depraved "Trash" which delights in its sonic seediness. Everyone enjoys these more in your face songs which really come alive when played this passionately.

Carter leaves us with the random thoughts that the drummer is single again, the bass player never sweats and the keyboard player has lost his hat. A random end to a pretty random gig

Nicholas Paul Godkin