Thumpers delight at London's Trinity Centre

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Photograph by Sara Amroussi-Gilissen. View full photo gallery here.

The thing with the Trinity Centre is that it feels like a church hall well because it is a church hall. It’s an unusual place to go and launch a single, given there’s no bar, minimal toilet facilities, and a general atmosphere which throws you into a regressive mental state where you treat every solitary stranger lurking around the edges as a chaperone who’s going to confiscate the can of beer you bought for a bargainous £2 (£2!) at the entry desk.

It makes tonight feels like a school disco. Only with a band who don’t suck. Formed from the ashes, no wait, bones, no wait, Chinese cure for impotence of Pull Tiger Tail, Thumpers are a euphoric delight.

So while a couple of songs may sound a teeny bit like ‘Club Tropicana’ by Wham!, Thumpers also have plenty aimed at something grander. Particularly the “first song they ever wrote” ‘Sound Of Screams’ and the set closing single that they’ve come here to launch: ‘Dancing’s Done’. Falling somewhere between the complex pop-sensibilities of Dirty Projectors, the luscious sparkle of The Flaming Lips and the dance smarts of Hot Chip, both are, in what amounts to a fair summation of the whole evening, huge amounts of fun.

Setlist
Marvel
Unkinder (A Tougher Lover)
Parachutes
Roller
Sound of Screams
Galore Galore
Together Now
Dancing’s Done