The Bees
Electric Ballroom, London NW1

The Isle of Wight isn't famous for producing significant rock bands, unless you count Eighties funksters Level 42, and most people don't. But Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher, founding members of The Bees, have a rich musical pedigree. Over the course of two eccentric albums, they have embraced pastoral lo-fi, Seventies reggae, Brazilian Tropicalia and Sixties English r'n'b.

Their live show is equally eclectic, on one song they sound like the Upsetters, on the next the Kinks. At times you wish they would focus a bit more and sound less derivative, but their shambolic nature and the pervasive feeling of dreamy psychedelia is a large part of their charm. The opener, 'Punchbag', drifts along pleasantly until the melody grabs hold of you, while 'I Love You' is so sweet it should carry a dentist's warning.

By the end of the set they have loosened up, leading us into a long instrumental featuring calypso brass. Their encore, 'Chicken Payback', is simply mad, a soul stomp including animal noises and repetitive, puerile lyrics 'Pay back the chicken, back back/Pay the chicken back.' I suppose you just had to be there.