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Guitar bands are back in vogue, and London three-piece Yak have rapidly established a reputation as one the UK’s most thrilling up-and-coming live acts.

Alas Salvation, their frantic – and strikingly accomplished – debut album, was released in February, showcasing energy and songwriting flair in equal measure.

The band lived up to their billing at Patterns with a sweaty and unrelenting set fuelled by penetrative bass lines, crunching guitars and frontman Oli Burslem’s abrasive vocals.

Highlights included Out On A Limb, which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Birthday Party album, and the raw, White Stripes-esque battle cry of album opener Victorious.

Some younger devotees clearly appreciated it, with a mosh pit responding exuberantly to every crescendo and every wailed chorus – Burslem even crowdsurfing on a couple of occasions.

Some of the nuances and sonic variations of the record were lost in the live setting but those present were adequately compensated for by the sheer intensity of the band’s delivery.

A word of recognition, too, for support act Cabbage, whose reverb-draped brand of rockabilly post punk fusion was deserving of a bigger audience.

Yak may soon be playing bigger venues than Patterns, but sweaty and intimate certainly suits them for the time being.

Tom Furnival-Adams

Next up at Patterns is lo-fi punk band Bloody Knees, tomorrow, June 9, at 7pm. Tickets are £5. Call 01273 894777 or visit patternsbrighton.com.