HMV’s Next Big Thing initiative is crawling out across the capital over the next two weeks and offers a pretty tasty deal for fans, with three bands a night for a tenner, leading up to a Valentine’s day climax at The Borderline and featuring up-and-comers like Paloma Faith, Wave Pictures and Band of Skulls. For once, we left our studs and leather in The Crobar next door and braved the non-dingy dungeon to check out Electro’s latest great white hopes Chew Lips.

As mentioned, these bills are all about diversity, and judging by the frighteningly uncool crowd it’s attracting all comers, as we jostle through an alarming mixture of Hip Vs Slip, A Bathing Ape meets Slightly Overweight punters and get the drinks in as openers Expatriates take the stage.

Now, wearing your influences on your sleeve is all fine and well -hey, look at Rush – but Expatriates have gone that step too far and decided to endlessly replay songs from U2’s No Line on the Horizon album. They do at least attempt to mix things up with some oddly Hawkwindesque keyboards hoving into view between the tragically hip (in 1992) haircuts, but there’s no denying The Edge is entirely responsible for these chaps. The fact that they segue pitch-perfectly into the between set tape of Chris Cornell tells you all you’ll ever need to know about them.

Charli XCX

Next up it’s a change of pace as Lady GaGa’s greatest fan takes the stage, and yep, it’s just as bad as it sounds. Charli XCX specialises in big-eyed jerky dancing and shock-haired sub Gaga theatrics with ¼ Peaches attitude thinly spread on top. Her first track suffers from a technical hitch leaving her looking lost on stage and revealing a total lack of star wattage as she scampers back to the wings for another ten minutes.
“She wasn’t that good…and I didn’t like the way her face looked” remarks one astute gig-goer behind me, as Charli hit’s the stage again and attempts desperately to make you love her. The jerky dance moves conjure up terrifying images of Brixton bedroom practice sessions and she raises a surprisingly upbeat reaction from the crowd although there are plenty of questions regarding just how ‘live’ the vocals are. Hideous image aside, CXCX has some undeniably strong tunes and could go far if she chooses to focus on those rather than the cheap Barbie-face bra bearing theatrics.

And so to headliners Chew Lips. Thanks to appearances at the BBC electric proms and no little help from singer Tig’s gorgeous looks, CL are definitely rising stars, peddling a Prince-influenced electro pop that needs to iron out the uneven tempo changes a little but is definitely something to keep an eye on. Their insanely 80’s Kim Wilde-esque workouts wouldn’t look out of place over a Karate Kid training montage, with some very slick songwriting with inbuilt danceability crashing against an affable glittery image that could do with an overhaul in favour of minimalist iconic bastardry, they nevertheless know how to get a crowd dancing in a way pop hasn’t truly managed since 1985. Oddly enough, this is one group that needs to avoid advancing, as slightly more complex newer numbers slow things down – If they can just stick with the upbeat bass pop workouts and arena epicry they can’t go wrong.