Live Review: Dune Rats, Shining Bird, The Walking Who, The Knits - Oxford Art Factory

The Knits' brand of sleazy, bluesy garage-rock was pretty damn enjoyable, despite an undeniably messy set. The band made the decision to try out a handful of new songs on the Dunies' crowd, and unfortunately some of them didn't quite feel ready. However, Don't Tell Mum's message of bucket-bong-related secrecy struck a chord, and the Ramones-meets-Sonics grunt of EP track Do Ya? was a perfect high-energy closer.

The Walking Who's set showcased the band's variety, ranging from Jack White-esque foot-stompers (leaving little question why the band were picked to play at the local launch of White's new LP), to the mid-tempo Dandy Warhols shuffle of Candy Flu and moody, dark psych-pop. Frontman Rohin Brown got a lot of mileage out of his Stratocaster, with an extended guitar-and-keyboard jam in the band's second-last song. Punters were left wanting more, as the four-act line-up meant short set times.

If there's one thing Shining Bird know, it's how to make the most of their six-member line-up: each track was layered with soaring synth lines and effects, rich guitars and wide open reverb. The icing was frontman Dane Taylor's voice, channelling the warmth of Matt Berninger with just a hint of Ian Curtis. The atmospheric set, full of ten-minute songs, was gorgeous, but did seem perhaps a little sleepy in contrast with the other bands.

That said, if anyone was going to pull the crowd together and get them to start moshing again, it was Dune Rats, and they did so quite handily, with album opener Dalai Lama, Big Banana, Marijuana kicking off a huge singalong. Before long the stage filled up with what felt like every member of the sweaty audience taking turns dancing around and stage diving into the pit, while the Dunies spun their blend of hazy, weed-drenched slacker tunes and sun-blessed surf-rock anthems.