Nite Songs

  Kubix Day 1 Review here And so on to Day 2 of Kubix. While yesterday was a fairly slow-paced opening day to the festival, today proves to be a lot more busy with several stage clashes. In the interest of covering as much as possible, please be aware that for quite a few of the bands I've reviewed here, I didn't catch the full set due to hot footing it to/from the other stage. But hopefully I've done this justice... It's weird how a nice sunny day (a stark contrast to yesterday which alternated between clouds and rain) can make even bands you weren't a fan of first time out seem pleasant enough and Republica , who open the Main Stage today, are a case in point. Back when I was 18, I generally found their Essex girl techno-Britpop about as much fun as root canal surgery without the anaesthetic but today they're enjoyable enough with an energy and enthusiasm to their set that means you'd have to be a bit of a miserable bugger not to enjoy it. They play the hi...

  Ska is one of those genres that always seems to make a comeback every so often and Essex's Death of Guitar Pop are a band who are rapidly establishing themselves as one of its better new exponents. Regulars on the festival circuit, this is their third album and my initial impression on hearing the bouncy brass of When The Ska Calls  is that they remind me of near neighbours Buster Shuffle (both bands definitely owe a noticeable debt to Madness in their sound) which is no bad thing - certainly Back Of A Lorry  is definitely something I could see BS doing as well. They're a surprisingly versatile bunch though as No 1 In America  sees them dropping the pace by a notch to deliver a tuneful mid-paced ode to the confusion a lot of bands feel on suddenly being packed off on tour to the States while Cinderella's Fella  has some twanging Hank Marvin style guitar which works well within the track. Indeed, the quality remains refreshingly high throughout from the moody T...