Decode -  Bar III, Bristol, Wednesday 5th October 2005

Fortunately for my housemate’s musical education Envy & Other Sins are bloody great. Donning 1920s neckerchiefs, waistcoats, braces and fictional personas they storm into action with catchy riffs emerging from brilliantly crafted, infectious songs.

The motley crew of musos that by now have packed up the dance floor lap it up and, with the help of some Wedgies-reject chavs who drunkenly dance and grope one another at the front, things get moving quickly and sail cheerfully along until the end of E&OS’s set.

There’s one painful moment where front man Ali Forbes tries to do one of those a capella singing solos that should be emotive, but the rowdy crowd won’t let him have the hushed background he needs for the song to have it’s desired effect and in the end, thankfully, he gives up and the band carry on bashing out beefy tunes and gyrating like nutters. Keyboard player Jarvey Moss is especially entertaining and spends the predominant part of the show with his mouth gaping open twisting his contorting body in some fascinating hysteria.

It’s a bit of a shame that the set has to be awkwardly interrupted by the ‘Malice Raffle’ into which the bands showcased donate a few goodies for people to nab and as usual, with such things, there’s at least one pretentious idiot in the crowd who feels he’s aiding the situation by drunkenly yelling ‘get on with the music’. Luckily E&OS keep their head and their set gathers momentum to the end beating itself out in a brilliant finish of twined guitars and drums – there are some great instrumental moments throughout the set.

My housemate decided that she too approved of the headliners and I even spotted her left leg spasming a little by the end of the set, indie-kid style. She concluded that she would definitely attend another ‘gig’ - Get in!