It’s hazy, and some song you like but won’t remember in the morning is playing in the background, until it cuts out to give way to Midland pop punk band, Coast To Coast. Vocalist Kieran Hyland’s voice makes the band all the more reminiscent of Lower Than Atlantis and with the latter stepping down, Coast to Coast prove themselves more than capable of filling that space. ‘Cold Buzz’ is their most earnest song and a true reflection of the great potential of this five-piece.

New Jerseyans Save Face are up next and the intensity of their set immediately amplifies the energy in the room. They’re playing a rich mix of songs, including tracks from their 2018 release ‘Merci’, showing vocal range, skilled musicianship and intelligent songwriting. Their atmospheric guitar solos feel like a physical force, reaching out to hold you in the moment as sound waves crash all around.

Then we wait. We talk about how excited we are to see Can’t Swim, wonder which songs they’ll play and whether setlist.fm can be trusted. We talk about their 2018 Slam Dunk set and how the band came about,and when the lights finally dim we stop talking, because this is the moment we all came for.

From the opening gallop of ‘What Have We Done?’, Can’t Swim look every bit like a band built for this, dominating the small stage with both presence and musical prowess. They’re going hard, threatening the speakers with dangerous levels of distortion and the crowd’s loving it.

Vocalist Chris LoPorto moves around with a casual assurance, breezing through ‘My Queen’, ‘Your Clothes’, ‘All The Moves We Make Are In The Dark’ and more songs from across their rock solid discography. His voice is as strong as it is on their records and it’s visible that the rest of the band are just as accomplished at their craft.

‘sometimes you meet the right people at the wrong times’ also makes an appearance on the setlist alongside ‘$50 000’ and breakthrough single ‘Stranger’. There’s no fan favourite, because every single song is a crowd pleaser that speaks to the troubled, the heartbroken and the lonely. That is the beauty of Can’t Swim; besides their exceptional ability to set the mood with haunting vocals and instrumentation, their biggest trump card lies with introspective lyricism that fans can relate to.

The set finishes and echoes of ‘Stranger’ fill Borderline as fans continue humming the tune as they leave – because unlike that song you knew you’d forget by the morning, tonight will stay with you until the next time Can’t Swim are in town.

RENETTE VAN DER MERWE

Opening up the nights proceedings is SAINTE, Tay Jardine’s (formerly of We Are The In Crowd) new solo project. Smashing through her recently released EP ‘smile, and wave’ and declaring “to be fair, that’s all the songs we have” when the crowd express disappointment at the end of the set, the performance is a whirlwind. Clearly giddy at being back on stage again, the tracks fizz with energy and excitement at what’s been created, with the crowd throwing that energy right back at her.

If SAINTE warmed the crowd up, Against The Current set the room on fire from the minute they step on stage. Opening with ‘Running With The Wild Things’, there is immediate crowd-surfing before the chorus even hits, and the energy continues throughout their set. With some of their biggest fans packed into such a small venue, the general feeling of the night is one of pride at seeing what Against The Current have done in their short years as a band.

Repeatedly thanking fans for sticking with them over the years and reminiscing on their first London headliner at The Borderline in 2014, it seems fitting that the band go back to playing some of their older cuts for this show. ‘Paralyzed’ roars as loudly as it ever has, whilst ‘Talk’, which Chrissy states is one of her favourites to play live, swaggers with pent up ferocity.

Making sure not to skip over some of their slower tunes and making a point to warn the crowd things will be getting moody, ‘Chasing Ghosts’ is performed with extra cheesy drum fills and vocal delays this time around. It’s a nice addition to the set and allows the bands songwriting and performance abilities to shine through on a less high octane track, bringing a nice change of pace to the set. From this point onwards the set lulls overall, with the more understated ‘Roses’, ‘Dreaming Alone’, ‘Brighter’, ‘Wasteland and In Our Bones,’ all making appearances.

Closing out after an encore with possibly their biggest song to date ‘Gravity’, Against The Current have once again proven why they’re one of the most exciting pop rock bands out there at the moment.

Wallflower are quite something and deserve a look within a UK scene that is overflowing with talent in 2017. With delicate melodies, the vocal dexterity of Jesse Lacey, rock riffs that are deep and penetrating, and an energy that seems to come very naturally, there is a perfect slot for them in the scene.

They offer something unique and are the perfect starter for what’s to come tonight. With a new EP out soon, we are treated to ‘Splintered’, which highlights all those qualities in spades. The beat is intoxicating, the vocals dreamlike, the riffs and chorus vocals reminiscent of Brand New’s ‘The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me’. They’re certainly for fans of the band, and a genuinely exciting proposition.

Employed To Serve are not to be messed with — they are grabbing their limelight and showing everyone why they shouldn’t just be noticed. They’re proving why they should be taking more and more plaudits for being one of the best technical hardcore bands around, and from tonight’s performance, one of the best bands around right now. Period.

They destroy the Borderline. Justine’s timid and humble pre-performance appearance is replaced by a raucous frontwoman who owns all in her sight. It is quite something to behold. As the opening riff spills out she shouts “what’s the fucking point of going to a gig and standing at the back?”, a sentiment repeated by guitarist and crowd surfer extraordinaire Sammy Urwin.

The 20-30 strong pit rarely lets up. The band flow through a range of new tracks from their incredible ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’, including ‘Never Falls Far’ and the mesmerising ‘I Spend My Days – Wishing Them Away’. Then they treat everyone to ‘No One’s Perfect, This Includes You’ which is the most frenetic the band are all night.

The crowd responds with hoards of additional pit supporters and crowd surfers, including guitarist Urwin who is having so much fun doing so. He then delays proceedings by having to tune his guitar, but no one cares one iota. This band have just laid down the gauntlet for a heavy, technical live performance and they should be warmed by the prospects of their bright futures. There is no dying sun today — just spades of sweltering appreciation for a special band and a monumental live performance.

For lots of bands, following the previous two performances would feel difficult, but not for Milk Teeth. They are systematically breaking down every hurdle in front of them, and very soon should be a household name across (and more than likely beyond) the alternative music scene. They possess something unique: an ability to write incredibly catchy songs that stay in your head, whilst writing riffs that are aggressive in both musicality and sentiment. Even ‘Owning Your Okayness’ sounds heavy live and this is their most pop moment on new EP ‘Be Nice’.

Their increasing confidence as live performers is greatly enhanced by guitarist Billy Hutton and he revels in the crowd’s appreciation. ‘Prism’ is reminiscent of an ’80s pop tune merged with a grungy edge. Becky Blomfield’s vocals are intoxicating, as is her live persona — she owns that stage, and the crowd responds in euphoric waves. The venue’s energy lifts to impossible highs tonight, and the bulging crowd becomes a sweaty feast for the entirety of their set.

The sky is the limit for for Milk Teeth. If you want to catch them at a small venue then do so soon, as it cannot be long before they start headlining the larger venues. Their global domination continues, and it was a pleasure to see. Hopefully, such diversity in tours will also become commonplace, as this was one of the best shows of the year.

DAVE BULL

“Wel-fucking-come” exclaims Adam Carroll before bursting into song, the entirely excellent Zoax open up the show with all the swagger this tiny North London venue can handle. ‘The Bad Blood’, the first single from the band’s self-titled debut, along with ‘Devils Dance’ and a handful of others are presented in the capital for the first time. The rockier tunes go down well with the bulging crowd, not quite as agro as previous output, regardless of tenacity people hit the dance floor. In a live setting everything is upped tenfold. Seamlessly blending epic melodic breaks with riffs made of stone is clearly a winning combo. The lack of older material is an afterthought, who’s cares when these new ones do the business!?

Belgium isn’t just the home of Eden Hazard and delicious chocolate, oh no, noise rockers Raketkanon happen to hail from there too. The band are even more baffling live than on record, immediately attacking ears with woozy synths, the set explodes into life. Bemusing but oddly calming, long periods of piercing synths combined with chilling feedback make for the most disgusting soundscapes. With a bunch of sweaty oiks in front of them the band couldn’t sound more at home. The fact that Raketkanon don’t have bassist only enforces the general bamboozlement on offer. Bassless but by no means lacking balls, the slack is picked up by the night’s hardest drum hits, an everlasting supply of pedals and crazy Belgium black magic. A small contingent of ultras dance to every note, things really hot up when probably their most well-known song, ‘Florent’ sees singer Pieter-Paul Devos eerily whisper before yelling unforgivingly, providing a masterclass in terrifying mouth noises. Leaping into the crowd at every available opportunity and a classic drum kit trashing meant Raketkanon certainly made their mark.

Just as Heck’s debut ‘Instructions’ takes you on a journey, tonight’s show is quite the trip. Not only is it how you feel after one of their shows, ‘Good As Dead’ is Heck’s opening track. Mirroring the band, the sold out Borderline goes absolutely bananas. ‘Fastback’ clocks in at just over a minute long, played with vicious intensity, tonight the running time was just about halved. There’s no messing around.

Somewhere in the madness a guitar is snapped in half, it almost seemed like a non-event, laughing it off the guitar is thrown to other side of the stage. An excitable Tom Marsh escaped from his kit and headed for the crowd, his trusty kick drum acting as a surfboard. A mess of leads, guitars and mic stands follow the boys across the rooms on their adventures, “Hey Paul, look at the people over here”. Matt Reynolds can hardly believe the amount of people watching his band.

The mammoth ‘I. See The Old Lady Decently II. Buried Although III. Amongst Those Left Are You’ closes the set and with it brings the most stage dives all night, the hardest riffs and a fitting sense of finality. The quiet moments see the whole crowd sit down, lighters up style. After a much needed rest that solo hits, a few more minutes of bonkers action and it’s time to end. Taking their place on top of the sound desk, the centre of the floor and lastly the stage, the night’s final words are let out. “This isn’t over. This will never be over!”.

Catching his breath Reynolds cannot hide his appreciation, “This isn’t just the best show of the tour, it’s the best show of our fucking careers!” Need I say more?

Citizen have seen their fanbase soar over the past year or so and it’s generally agreed that it’s down to the incredible set of songs found on their debut album ‘Youth’, released last year on the consistently brilliant Run For Cover records. It’s taken them to a lot of new places touring-wise, but crossing the Atlantic for the first time must be a big milestone in their minds. Expectations are high in tonight’s sold out room, but there are two other great offerings that prefix their performance.

Headroom open the show by warming up the mainly younger audience, most of whom were probably unaware of them until tonight. The newer songs shine through as the stronger jams, particularly ‘Please’, lead track from their upcoming second EP ‘Carry Me Away’. Giving that same warm and welcoming crowd a tighter offering of songs are Diamond Youth, who at times sounding like a more heartfelt QOTSA. The flamboyant vocals might not sit so well with the audience, but they still lap it up in an encouragingly open-minded fashion.

Opening with slower versions of ‘Roam The Room’ and ‘Drown’, Citizen see the Borderline stage transformed into a cascading chaos of bodies lunging off it, with polite frontman Mat Kerekes doing his best to not get caught in the traffic. He tells of how great it is to feel this welcomed so far away from home, with it not just being the first time here for them, but the first time flying for some members of the band too. On a lot of songs he’s met with a wall of out stretched hands from fans singing back at him – something the band have had to get used at the level they’ve managed to reach. The rest of the band sound killer, particularly the glistening sounds coming from the guitar of Nick Hamm, a key creative driving force of the band.

There are a few more cuts from the ’Young States’ EP, plus the less familiar ‘Cicuta’. It’s the last five back-to-back songs of their set however that matter most. Anyone walking in at this point may have already missed a great performance, but over the next 20 minutes they’ll witness why this band have been receiving the amount of attention they have – the absolute highlights from ‘Youth’. It’s hard to distinguish which of these could be the fan favourite, they all could be. It might be ‘Sleep’, met with one of the biggest cheers of the night before delicately transitioning into another contender – the affecting drama of ‘How Does It Feel’. Maybe it’s ‘The Night I Drove Alone’, which sees Kerekes’ desperate lyrics blasted back at him alongside even more dives. ‘Speaking With A Ghost’ pushes straight on through to the undeniable hooks of ‘The Summer’, rounding their set off with everything the crowd wanted. Or at least nearly. The band return for an unplanned encore of ‘I’m Sick Of Waiting’ after audience demand, showing how they’re still not quite used to the love they’re getting. It really seems that on their current trajectory that that love is only going to grow further.

James Fox

London based indie-label Xtra Mile was one label determined not to be dragged down by what they referred to as “misfortune” and instead launched Fuck The Fire with Pledge Music. As well as offering fans a second chance of getting their hands on reprints of old favourites they announced a charity show at The Borderline.

With Xtra Mile poster boy Frank Turner currently on tour of the U.S. and other well known members of the Xtra Mile family such as The Xcerts, Crazy Arm and Ben Marwood otherwise occupied, it fell to familiar faces Beans on Toast and Christ T-T along with new signings Dave Hause (The Loved Ones), Jim Lockey (Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun) and Colin MacIntyre (Mull Historical Society) to show how important it is that Xtra Mile was not allowed to fold.

Entering a venue to be met with the site of a shaggy looking, gravel voiced man with no shoes and a ¾ sized guitar may surprise those not aware of BEANS ON TOAST’s brand of social commentary. It is tribute to his charm how intently the crowd listens as he sings the poignant ‘Wave Goodbye to EMI’, and even more so when they laugh along as he completely forgets the 2nd verse when singing about broken Britain. He finishes off with ‘New Number One’, a tribute to a blushing Lizzy B in the crowd.

JIM LOCKEY follows by demonstrating why he is a natural fit with Xtra Mile with his brief two-song set. The crowd warm to him immediately and it’s clear throughout ‘Wishing Well’ why this man has found fans in Ben Marwood and Frank Turner.

CHRIS T-T shuffles up on stage and before speaking a word of introduction breaks into haunting version of ‘Halfway Down’ by A. A. Milne – whose poetry becomes a theme of Chris T-T’s set. He tells the captivated room how he has now started doing children’s shows before moving onto emotional versions of ‘A Box to Hide In’ and the a capella ‘M1 Song’. Faster paced ‘Preaching to the Converted’ is next, before the more mellow ‘Elephant in the room’ and ‘A Hunstman Comes A-Marchin’ make appearances. He finishes as he started with another A. A. Milne effort to bring to a close a very articulate, political and entertaining set.

Next up, fresh off the revival tour comes DAVE HAUSE, showcasing songs from recently released solo effort ‘Resolutions’ and peppering the set with Loved Ones hits. While it would be easy to draw comparisons to label mate Frank Turner, it would be unjust on the quality and charisma he brings to the stage tonight. Highlights come in the form of ‘Prague (Revive me)’, ‘Pray For Tucson’, and album title track ‘Resolutions’. Hause is clearly (and deservedly) enjoying himself on stage and takes the time between songs to talk about driving on tour with Franz Nicolay, and also question Beans on Toast as to why he removed his shoes – to which he never got an answer.

The final act of the evening is Mull Historical Society’s COLIN MACINTYRE. There is something very recognisable about MacIntyre’s songs, but he doesn’t quite reach the heights set just before by Dave Hause. Despite the evening not finishing as strongly as it started there is no doubting the strength in depth Xtra Mile can boast and how their survival is of benefit to us all.

DAREN FEARON