MK Stop 11: Sharks + Computers + Ghost Of A Thousand @ 02 Academy, Oxford (14 July 2009)

A chugging, continuous cacophony, Sharks bite like a ravenous crow onto the attention spans of tonight's gently packed 02 academy. Bold, bright and uplifting punk. Exeter's Computers invite people to "Take a step forward...it might be fun". Dressed like pageboys, all in white and with mullets to make a hipster cocktail party blush, their head-banging craziness is refreshing and, surprisingly, deeply felt, whereas the vocalist announces it's the slimmest stage they've ever been on, whereby they take to the floor, and with track titles like "Love The Music, Hate The Kids" you can be sure of a bashful sociological periphery, their momentous blasts of punk fizz enveloping, pulling stylish wheelies, while the drummer grapples with his equipment as if he's swimming against a torrent of trojan viruses.

Their last song - or moreover, scream, is met with welcome humility, bigging up their mortal counterparts Sharks, and the last act of the evening, Ghost Of A Thousand. If the decibels omitted during their performance are equivalent to anything, it is indeed a hoover bag of busted ghosts. Formed in Brighton, England, in late 2004, GOAT quickly won critical praise for their riotous aggression. Members Andy Blyth (guitar), Jag Jago (guitar), Memby Jago (drums), Tom Lacey (vocals), and Gez Walton (bass) released their debut album, "This Is Where the Fight Begins" in 2007, touring with the Zico Chain and Flood of Red, and playing sets at the Reading and Leeds rock festivals. With the album scoring five Ks in Kerrang!, Lacey's lyrics collapse in the mouth of the noise pit like chocolate truffles.

This drummer is also equivocally animated, chasing and hanging onto the tracks like an alligator with locked jaws. I can't comprehend a syllable the singer's saying, but perhaps that's not the point, and maybe it'll pay off for the memory matrix when I download a copy of this chuntering blitzkrieg. Even the moshing wasn't bad. To quote GOAT, "It's not about beating the shit out of each other, it's about community and having a f***ing good time. Give your neighbour a hug". And that, was nice.

The Computers: MySpace
The Ghost Of A Thousand: MySpace
Download: Ghost Of A Thousand on eMusic