A last-minute decision to hop on the Tube into central London for Soho Calling, a curated festival spread across seven venues across the breadth of Soho, led me to base myself at The Social. At around £15 for four acts, it already felt like a bargain. Being handed a free burger, chips and drink voucher on arrival, courtesy of Secret London, was an unexpected bonus that effectively covered the ticket price.

I arrived just as South Korean band Yangbans took to the stage. Their charismatic frontman, Jun Bum Sun, shared that he had been an exchange History student at nearby University College London some twelve years ago, lending the evening a note of nostalgia. This was also the band’s first show outside Asia. He explained that their name loosely translates as “Young Pens”, favouring the creative over the war-mongering sword.

Musically, the set opened with echoes of Ocean Colour Scene and Kula Shaker, before sliding into a Nile Rodgers-style Funk groove by the close. The Britpop-inflected sound, combined with traditional Korean dress, created an aesthetic entirely their own. Tracks such as 'The Young', with its gentle Psychedelia and Zen-like undertones, built towards an atmosphere of understated euphoria.

I had first reviewed Hunny Buzz when they supported Hannah Wicklund at Oslo in Hackney, around the release of their 'Welcome to Our Garden' EP, which carried a wide-eyed innocence. The material aired here from their recent 'Growing Pains' EP suggests a shift towards Grunge-edged intensity and latent anger. Frontwoman Lyd Read, noting the band’s Bristol roots, joked about a permanent relocation to the capital. Billy Pedrick’s drumming now channels something of Dave Grohl’s muscular style, while the lyrics have grown more ambivalent and self-questioning.

Then came Thumper. When the WRC previously caught them at at London's legendary The George Tavern in Stepney, Oisín Leahy Furlong’s ferocious delivery resulted in a chipped tooth, courtesy of an overzealous microphone encounter. If anything, they have intensified since and now deploy twin drummers, Stevie D'Arcy and Benedict Warner-Clayton, to power their formidable sound.

The result is a genuine wall of noise, fusing the wiry riffs of The Strokes, the punchy dynamics of The Knack and the shimmering pedal effects associated with The Edge of U2. At one point I could even detect a flash of the high-pitched glissando from Public Enemy’s 'Rebel Without a Pause'. Early in the set, Alex Harvey clambered across the interlocking tables beside the stage at The Social, somehow avoiding broken glass or injury, and evoking the mischievous abandon of Ron Burgundy in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Their new album 'Sleeping With The Light On' is well worth seeking out. On this showing, Thumper are a band determined to leave a lasting impression.

Review and photos: Ivan De Mello