Woven Bird @ Pop, Southampton

To be honest it was a pretty miserable evening in Southampton, rain greeted my arrival to the city centre like a middle finger from an old man on the bus. I felt disproportionately old as five frolicking freshers bounded
down Above Bar Street in the opposite direction wearing Uni hoodies and clutching cheap bottles of cider.

But Woven Bird's set gave me a slap round the chops and a rejuvenating shake. In a good way, you understand. The five-piece bring a real presence, energy and craft to the stage – a combination that makes for compelling viewing. The punters who had 'played it cool' with the earlier bands choosing to remain seated near the bar, suddenly found their legs and headed for the front.

Monumental tune '25' opens with a beautiful high-pitched “hoooow do you get by...now you're 25?” which sounds awesome on their debut single, but I suspected would lose some of its mystique live. Not so. It is an awesome way to kick off what is an excellent rite-of-passage song: a rejuvenated, punchier, full-band version of Cat Stevens' 'Father and Son', if you will. Terrific.

The free transfer of the freshly recruited guitarist Lewis Ford (formerly of Haunted Stereo) seems a shrewd acquisition, not only in a strumming capacity but also vocally. Bounding around the stage during the hectic 'Lion's Den', his coos teaming up with those of frontman Matt Canning, makes for an energetic song in which various members snatch the lead from Canning and his acoustic guitar at different points. Frenetic pace and unconventional song structure, combined with Canning's wild, otherworldly vocal delivery, gives Woven Bird a real edge. Indie by numbers this is not.