Supported by Del Boca Vista, Monique Araujo and Dylan Young (Way Dynamic).

Sand Dollars headline a stellar evening of indie pop and soul with the launch of their new single Silence is Golden. However, their latest single was almost overshadowed by their newer songs highlighting how exciting this band is.

Way Dynamics front man Dylan Young opened the night with just his electric guitar. The set had a distinct early 90s vibe with very soft hushed vocals. Great guitar work reminded me of Jeff Buckley and he had a bit of The Church vibe too. He half did a cover of The LA’s There She Goes and did a proper cover of Streets of Your Town by the Go Betweens which summed up his style quite well. He said he was working on some of these songs with the band and I’d be keen to hear them fleshed out some more.

The second band or rather artist with band, Monique Araujo warmed into their set with some neo soul grooves. Hints of Erika Badhu and Sade. The set then progressed gradually until you didn’t realise you were dancing by the end. Some of the tunes were quite amped up and there was a little aggression in her delivery sometimes feeling a little bit reggae and protest song at times. They did an excellent Kanye cover which didn’t seem out of place at all and by the end everyone was pretty keen to keep dancing.

Loving a good Seinfeld reference, I was keen to see Del Boca Vista. They were cool 90s garage sounding band. Think Pavement, or Pixies but with a distinct power pop flavour like Fountains of Wayne or Weatus. Very lo-fi but good hooks. They were a big contrast from Monique Araujo who's magic on stage came from their perfectionism, Del Bocas magic came from their imperfection. Unfortunately this was to their own detriment tonight. They generally had a great upbeat Strokes vibe but often drowned themselves out by their own squealing feedback and noisy guitars to be able to really hear the song underneath. They did a great cover of Manic Monday though. Bangles would have been proud.

Sand Dollars opened their set with their new single Silence is Golden which is like a Bond theme song performed by the Strokes. It has plenty of hooks and got their waiting audience off in the right mood for the rest of the gig. They sound like 1960s doo wop pop through the lens of Arctic Monkeys. And they are hard not to enjoy with surf pop tunes smashing out one after the other. The Sand Dollars were like a combination of the two bands that preceded them. Lots of garage pop but then there were slicker moments ahead. By midway they were headed into new tunes territory which they seemed more comfortable and at home with. More expansive sound, especially when bringing on stage extra singers. That gave their tunes a bit of a 70s soul vibe. Almost Curtis Mayfield at times. Whether it was upbeat jangly beats or groove based dance floor fillers they had people moving and dancing. They also did a pretty slick, funk cover of Roxanne by The Police which is a new spin on that reggae tune worth hearing. All in all you could see a transition of the band as they shed some of their more garage, lo-fi leanings for some more slicker soulful tunes. Their next phase is one to be anticipated.