The University Sports and Social Club was the setting for a high-octane gig from Homerton band Sports Team last week, with folksy first-year Riley Thorold also impressing. 

Sports Team are five students from Homerton College who don’t take themselves too seriously. That said, guitarist Jerry Cummins (who looked like Crazy Frog in a floral shirt) has recently had the band name tattooed onto his buttocks to demonstrate his loyalty. Their best song was a tongue-in-cheek celebration of Green MP Caroline Lucas and they proved themselves to be an impressive, well-oiled unit throughout. In their element here, they were clearly enthused to be performing in front of so many friends, and showed that their own description of their music online as “semi-aggressive lad-rock” was somewhat ironic. After all, the biggest cheer of the night came from a shout-out to anyone from the Home Counties.  Female drummer Alex Greenwood was a tour de force but credit must also go to Rob Knaggs, not only for his guitar playing but also for his clothing: sporting a Simpsons t-shirt, bright red swimming trunks and knee-length England socks, he looked like Mac Demarco preparing to plunge into a psychedelic ocean. 

Support came from The Bon Rotters, a sort of Sex Pistols tribute act/parody. Nick Sinclair, a towering presence in an Egyptian quantity of eyeliner, tooted a sweet little harmonica solo before ripping off his shirt and bellowing “You can all f*** off!” into the mic, a phrase he would interject at random at least another 28 times throughout the set. They covered The White Stripes and The Beatles, and a neat cover of Bruno Mars had people hitting the dance floor.

The evening took another bizarre turn with the appearance of Ben Mack who decided to rap over some grime. He certainly looked the part: reading his lyrics off his phone through dark sunglasses as if he were spitting fire in the booth. But this was ironic fire. He was clearly not intending to be taken seriously, as his shout-out to the bar staff and comment “Hold tight Carling” made clear. 

The standout act though was surely Homerton singer-songwriter Riley Thorold, whose nasal, twangy voice was reminiscent of Johnny Flynn and The Tallest Man on Earth. His lyrics were fresh and simple, his guitar playing rich and intricate. And even though his face was obscured by three party balloons attached to the mic, his cover of Randy Newman’s Louisiana was still very enjoyable. 

With two separate performers playing most of their sets topless, this was an admirably energetic evening of music for a Wednesday night and a strong showcase of up-and-coming Cambridge talent.