The Youth Club make a predictably tentative start to their debut performance, their confidence dented by an initially lopsided mix which reduces the contribution of singer June Lawrence to the level of mime. 

But as the sound balance improves, so do Brilliant, weighing in with the meaty, up-tempo Idleys feel of 'Push' and the Hawkwind guitar chords of 'Silent Rage'. 

The faster the beat, the better they become, the two-pronged bass attack adding a lot of clout to the barrage of blood-and-guts funk. 

The cumbersome wielding of the Brilliant sledgehammer on a couple of the slower numbers exposes a rather soft underbelly of under rehearsed material which will doubtless be knocked into shape before too long. 

In contrast to the purposeful Brill gang, the Brothers Aston pounce and flounce about like human fleas, conducting a frantic semaphore dialogue as they sprinkle their airy-fairy vocals over the heavy-duty Gene Loves Jezebel backing. 

The blond twin hops, skips and jumps the most, warbling in the manner of black-cat-and-bongoes period Bolan. The dark twin devotes his time equally between bleating and chord-bashing, his guitar on and off like a Belisha beacon. 

If they're thin on obvious pop classics, they're red-hot on atmosphere. The drippy-hippy blond conducts us through a fun-filled romp about a funeral that really sounds the part, and there's more where that came from. 

GLJ deserves to be seen live for the amount of sheer hard work they put in. Moody and extravagant, they earn their gold stars. 
 
 
 

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