Live Review - Dogzuki, Waterside, Carmarthen, January 21st

Pembroke Dock's Dogzuki are a band who mean something; a thrillingly together and highly organised proposition who just keep getting better and better.

And since signing to small indie label, Gasbomb, they now have a new lease of life. Pitting super-fast garage against high-octane punk, Dogzuki have created their own highly original, quirky, and skilfully honed sub-genre, which slots somewhere between ska punk and art punk.

As the guys generate a general gorgeousness, there were more girls down the front at this gig than is usual for a Pembrokeshire band. But Dogzuki are a band's band too, a band who leave their own individual footprints; highly respected and appreciated by other musicians, many of whom had turned up to see them.

Although there are no artificial flavours in their music, they provide a suitably left-field looking visual spectacle with skeleton tops, coloured hair streaks and more make-up than is usually worn by Pembrokeshire boys.

Their familiar set contained short, sharp stabs of songs, often ingeniously twisted and contorted with serrated vocals by frontman Ger; some with darkness at their core, as in Dead Again. And like a badge of honour they felt it their duty to include at least one Pixies cover, as Pixies are the band whose influences can be heard most. Tonight it was Tame.

And then, after tearing through many old faves, Dogzuki ripped the roof off with their trademark ending during Run Dry.

It started as a deceptively gentle ballad, softly sung by Andrew, before crunching, frenzied guitars were unleashed at triple speed and Ger plunged head first through walls of fractured noise into Matt's drum kit.

It was all over in a breathlessly wonderful 45 minutes. Not quite rock heaven, but almost.