NYPC: media release

Sunset Stage, Latitude Festival

Not so much new rave as new wave, New Young Pony Club always seem to draw comparisons to art-rockers Talking Heads and from this evening’s set it’s easy to see why. Though their synth driven leads are capable of whipping any crowd into an excited frenzy, it’s the jerky drum beats of their new album released this weekend, Fantastic Playroom, that really gets toes tapping and feet moving.

NYPC are brilliant, so much so that it feels sometimes that there’s nothing more to say. The crowd at Latitude, however, have other ideas: I had to push my way through an overwhelming throng that spilled out of the back of the Sunrise stage just to get a look at them. In fact, the audience welled up so much that the set had to end five minutes early due to overcrowding. Combined with a late start – drawing jeers that soon turned to cheers as NYPC finally took to the stage – this was one of the shortest but most anticipated sets of the festival. NYPC lived up to their reputation.

Live, their sound is more obviously dance-punk, driven by intense, rhythmic bass guitar and a pounding 4 / 4 beat. Lead vocalist Tahita Bulmer, sporting a notably asymmetric haircut even by new rave standards, sometimes struggled to make her voice known above the incredibly loud bass but it didn’t seem to bother the audience: they knew all the words and were singing along. It sometimes felt as though the band were working too hard to please the crowd – the volley of fast, danceable beats was relentless – but NYPC seemed to be all about giving the people what they want, and they didn’t disappoint.