Electric Sheep Inc. - Blesstival, Camden

Rhyl’s Electric Sheep Inc. played the inaugural Blesstival at Camden’s iconic Elephant’s Head this past Sunday.

Frontman Christian Pimley dedicated the set to the recent passing of The Alarm’s Mike Peters. His impassioned speech about local icon status led into the groove-laden ‘Moosha Mosh’, where wayward Happy Mondays-style guitars set the stage for Pimley’s star to rise.

Resplendent in a charcoal Fred Perry t-shirt, Pimley strutted and danced with magnetic appeal. Eyes front and centre, his diminutive figure delivered a colossal lyrical assault. The ambition of Ian Brown and the poetry of Shaun Ryder collided to herald the UK’s next cultural icon:

“I’m a poet, I’m a liar, I’m a military coup”

On their latest single, ‘Cough Syrup’, the pace drops slightly, allowing Cameron Kelly and Jack Jones to ring out through this intimate setting as if it were Brixton Academy. Josh Jones’ basslines crunched with raw sex appeal, while Pimley’s angelic “oooo oooos” cut through the bombast with near-divine power.

The lyrical flow, the storytelling, and their full-bodied dive into the rock ’n’ roll aesthetics of Ecko and Bless were a joy to behold. Camden briefly reclaimed its soul. Guitars felt cool again - more than that, they felt vital.

Electric Sheep Inc. - Inn on the Green, Shiiine On '24

Rhyl outfit Electric Sheep Inc. made their Shiiine On debut two weekends ago on the Inn on the Green stage and we were there to check it out.

To outsiders, Shiiine On has the unfair tag of a nostalgia festival. There’s some, granted. Step inside Minehead for that weekend, and you’ll see the established perfecting their craft on new albums, but, furthermore, you’ll find nuggets of fledgeling gold like Ecko, Deja Vega (no longer fledgeling) by any means, and Holy Youth Movement being given grand stages to emerge from the shadows.

With nine years of unearthing the UK’s finest new bands behind them, Electric Sheep Inc. in the Inn on the Green came with a buzz.

They did not disappoint!

The intoxicating Velvet Underground drama of ‘Liberation’ unfurled with breathtaking power, while ‘Cough Syrup’ and ‘Moosha Moosh’ swayed from the Mondays to PiL debauched and undeniable.

On former singles ‘Queen’s Nose’ and ‘Taste of It’, the band went from engaging to weekend stealing. As frontman Christian Pimley wrenched “your sheep, annnnnd your cattle, iii’mmmmm not dying for you” from his soul, he found a space between ‘Bummed’ era Ryder and PiL era Lydon to reign supreme as the next great frontman. So many proclaim their colossal stature; Pimley exuded it as he glided effortlessly, making a tiny pub stage look like a vast arena. Coupled with Cameron Kelly and Josh Jones’ spiralling guitars, rock ‘n roll announced its greatness once again.

Set closer, ‘Taste of It’ doubled down on this with its warping majesty. Pimley’s snarling vocal cut through the Mondays-esque grooves with a euphoric intensity. MORE

A festival so synonymous with Happy Mondays was arguably treated to the finest thirty minutes of post-‘Pills, Thrills, and Bellyaches’ ever seen—great lyrics, effortless swagger, and a venom that could kill from a hundred paces.