Regular readers will know we’re big fans of the Mood Swings night at Yes Basement. You get 3 or 4 bands for less than a pint of lager at that overpriced, overcrowded Bingo Hall on Peter Street. Expect contrasting styles of music but all carefully curated by the promoters (Now Wave), everyone gets 30 mins to do their thing like an old school 60s package tour, and chances are you’ll see artists who will be headlining bigger venues before too long

We arrive in time to catch Child of Prague. Six musicians from Dublin, shared vocals, guitars, violin and Saxophone. There’s a folky, traditional angle to their sound (they play their version of an old Reel at one point) but they have a solid rhythm section behind them that roots them firmly in the present with just the right amount of fizz – think maybe early Fairport Convention when they were still on their holidays or Mercury Rev before they headed for the Catskills. They’ve got a knack of turning in wistful melodies, not a million miles from Prefab Sprout and the mixture of instruments – Sax, violin, harmonies, spiky guitars and fluid drums makes for a really appealing brew. Smart music, elegantly played. Typically for Mood Swings we’ve already seen a massively accomplished and enjoyable group and we’ve barely got started. 

Next up, all the way from Texas are Teethe who transform the mood completely. I’ve seen them before and something about them chimed with me – and they’re seriously immersive tonight . They’re brooding, intense and play with the lights down low which fits their slow burning but propulsive music. They’re in the ballpark of Mazzy Star or Spiritualized –  Deceptively simple riffs and hushed vocals that suddenly explode into fireworks when you don’t expect it. There’s no communication with the audience, heads firmly tilted towards shoes, the bassist/singer hides in an unlit corner of the stage and concentrates on the performance. Nothing to break the spell. They mean business and it works. Ambient loops and drones fill the space in between songs while the guitarists tune up so it’s hard to know where songs end and begin adding to the disorientation. Intense, spellbinding and and thoroughly engaging.

The last mood swing comes with the arrival of Adore. Another Irish group, this time from Sligo who transform the room again.  Adore are all about high energy, punky pop thrills however think more Buzzcocks, The Damned or ’12XU’ era Wire than Gr**n D*y. They have a super amped up 1978 sound and the stage is full of movement and excitement that doesn’t let up, apart from a brief moment where they play a tune on an Omnichord (which has to be strapped to one of those floor signs they put out to warn you of a spillage as a makeshift keyboard stand) which puts me in mind of Stereolab. 

Frontperson Lara is funny and engaging and the band are well drilled and know how to ‘mach schau’, rock out and knock out a set which would probably wallop the arse of a PsychFest as much as it would old punkers at Blackpool Rebellion. High velocity F-U-N. They’re as bouncy, tuneful and energetic as Teethe were dark and brooding and C.O.P were cerebral and scenic. All the bands exhibiting brilliance in a totally different medium. So there you go – all this for 6 quid! A fantastic trio of bands and I can’t help thinking we’ll be seeing more of all three