The aptly-named Boiler Room was a welcome and friendly shelter from the frankly Baltic conditions outside on a blustery November evening, and local five-piece Innogen wasted no time warming up the modest crowd, with a tight and technically-excellent set. At their best when only two of the three lead guitars were plugged in, their dark visions and furious fretwork mean they are surely meant to grace bigger venues in the years to come.

Next up were Wolverhampton boys Vert, who literally stomped all over the small stage, throwing out melodic slabs of malevolent metal reminiscent of Earthtone9. More than doing their Black Country musical heritage proud, giant frontman Steve Braund ensured that the room shook with every guttural roar and ferocious riff of new song, “Accepting Denial”.

Car Crash Television from Kent seemed to revel in lulling all and sundry into a false sense of security with ambient, ethereal intros and their boyish good-looks, before launching into Muse-like numbers that washed across the crowd like a tsunami, building and crashing with contrasting intensity to their angelic beginnings.

So far then, so good. It was clear though, from both crowd reaction and the fact that all of the above bands were now lingering around the bar clutching their drinks, that the main attraction was still to come…

This is the third date of an eighteen-date UK tour for Californian nearly-men and protagonists of “Lovecore”, Boy Hits Car. For a band who have supported System of a Down, Incubus and Papa Roach amongst others, CRegg Rondell (vocals & acoustic 12 string guitar), Dusty Hunt (guitar), Bill Gower (bass) and drummer Johnny Ransom have, apart from a small loyal following, passed a lot of rock fans by on these shores, perhaps due to record label disputes and a sporadic release history that has seen them release only a further two albums since their 1998 debut “My Animal”. Tonight sees them back on the road to promote self-funded new album “The Passage”, but this may be the first time in a while that they have had to set up their own gear! Clearly enjoying the crowd interaction and size of The Boiler Room, the elastic and hyperactive CRegg ripped through firm favourites “I’m A Cloud”, “Going to India”, and “Man Without Skin”, and dipped into “The Passage” via “Escape the World”. On a night that also saw him unable to indulge his passion for insane stage dives, CRegg made do by crowd-surfing to the bar for a whiskey mid-song, and clinging to the wooden beams for a brutal set-closing Refused cover.

Walking back out into the crisp autumn air, it was hard not to feel that seeing a band like Boy Hits Car in such a small, friendly venue, was a real privilege and that those who never really got the whole “Lovecore” thing have really missed out.

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