Bloody Knees bring the madness to second night of Hello 2015

It takes one play of ‘Uptown Funk’ to bring things back to Planet Earth. ‘Hello 2015’’s second new music showcase of the month - following on from The Magic Gang’s hell-raising opening - is a storm of sludge-y, grunge-nodding madness. Gruesome, twisted, this is the very definition of full on. It requires Mark Ronson’s chart-topper - blasted out of the soundsystem after Bloody Knees’ bonkers headline set - to remind everyone that this is 2015, funk is the flavour. By this point, collective sanity has gone out the window.

What precedes is one of the most promising, well-rounded showcases of guitar-centric talent in years. ‘Hello’ nights have previously boasted early shows from Wolf Alice, Superfood and Honeyblood, but this is another thing altogether - four fantastic new bands joining forces. “I’m so proud to be part of this line-up,” Bloody Knees frontman Bradley Griffiths announces on-stage before a limb-flailing climax. Together, Our Girl, Crows, Prom and the headliners come together as a pack.

It begins with a Brighton trio with one, self-titled song to their name. ‘Our Girls’ reaches the same shoegaze-nodding peaks as on record, but the rest of what Soph Nathan, Josh Tyler and Lauren Wilson bring offers even more. They seamlessly change time signatures, throw in solos when they’re least expected, with peaks given hints of early Wolf Alice or something from Courtney Barnett’s first two EPs. As they progress, there’s a confidence and a strut to their every move. Every simmered down moment is met with complete silence from the crowd - a rarity, when we’re talking about early days gigs. And when nothingness is pierced with another thundering guitar part, it’s back to reality.