I can't imagine the first Sunday of the month without Subverse; it's become somewhat of an institution and it's a great place to hear new British bands.

Never Say Die were first on. They played the kind of sunny power pop that you want to hear when you're in denial of the arrival of autumn. Pop punk with a keyboard - very much like Army of Freshmen - except with a dash of emo chucked in for good measure. Their lyrics are poetic and complex, not the average "dear diary" stuff. They leapt about the stage like they'd
eaten all the blue Smarties. They made up for it being quite quiet for Subverse by basically being the party: they're a really likeable and really fun band.

Reluctant to Speak were next, but they were a distinctly average metal band: they aren't bringing anything new to the table. Some people down the front seemed to be into them. They call themselves progressive but it seemed more like they just couldn't write structured songs. They're good showmen; they just need to work on their music. The sometimes sludgy sound of the Underworld probably wasn't doing them any favours either.

Tonight Is Goodbye may as well have been headliners and I would've been happy. They were similar to Never Say Die in sound but a little less poppy. They played songs from their EP The Birds and the Bees, like Black Dress and You and Your Tune. Like many bands, they sound a lot rockier live than on record, but they still sounded razor-sharp and they got plenty of people dancing. Considering how popular this dancey-emo-rock is, I'm surprised more people haven't heard of them. I'm sure their upcoming tour with Kids in Glass Houses will remedy that situation.

Then it was time for headliners Anemic. They came on to an intro track, and then burst straight into Cry Me a River (no, not a Justin Timberlake cover). Theirs was a solid performance with rocking riffs and pounding drums and they played songs new and old. It was a bit annoying that some of the vocals got a bit drowned out by the instruments at first, but it improved as the set continued. I think possibly the most interesting part of the whole gig was their song Tears Me Up. Just an acoustic guitar and a
vocalist on the stage of the Underworld! Now that's unusual! It was a really sweet song and the atmosphere was really nice (sadly no lighters appeared, but that would have just been too perfect). Then of course the rest of the band came back on stage to tear through one last fast song before saying goodbye.

It was a great gig and I hope that Subverse continues bringing rocking bands to Sunday afternoons. Same time next month then?