There are bands that could only have issued forth from the fertile, if unsanitary, loins of Shoreditch.

Indeed, it’s almost impossible to imagine some of them playing anywhere else, in front of any other audience. Kasms are such a band. I bet they get a nosebleed if they ever get as far as Camden Town.

This need not be a bad thing, however - at one time it would have been difficult to imagine Blondie playing anywhere other than CBGB’s, until the whole world wanted to see them. Kasms are a few strong songs away from their ‘Denis’ moment, although the recent single ‘Bone You’ has undeniable raggy-arsed, hyper-active punk appeal.

Where this (ahem!) ‘Shriek Beat’ quartet are so engaging is in the energy of their live performance, particularly that of singer Rachel Mary Callaghan, who spends more time on the floor than on her feet, legs akimbo and generally going out of her way not to be mistaken for a graduate of Cheltenham Ladies College.

It’s all loud, it’s all ill-mannered and it’s all proper, street-level rock n’ roll. Hoxton style.

Richard Hodkinson
Photo: londontourpix