If you are looking for music “you can send men into space to” then Friday night in The Bowery was the place for you. It was Ape Risings’s debut album launch and the five piece were raring to go, ready to blast the ears of the crowd with their unique blend of fiery retro spacey flavoured alternative rock.

Dublin trio Slouch kicked off the night with their raw ruckus sound. Feisty and meaty the tracks are heavy powerful and kick ass. Moody, grungy with a shout and growl here and there teamed with pulverising drums, sharp shredding guitar lines and rumbling prominent bass it’s an impress heavy mosh worthy set. With slick Queens Of The Stone Age- esque wails and sulky melodies backed by shattering instrumentation these guys pack a serious bruising punch. With a simple stance on stage they let their music speak for itself.

Instrumental and experimental duo Bicurious follow with an energetic set of infectious smooth grooves smothered with sweet guitar melodies and hefty doses of mosh ready heaviness. On stage guitarist Taran, who according to himself (jokingly) “turns into an asshole on stage” bounces jumps and bops around. Hair flying everywhere he urges the crowd to move closer to the stage and join in. Their tracks fluctuate between pounding head banding to sweet melodic sways and everything in-between seamlessly. Each track coils, twists, hops and grooves with sharp stinging guitar injections throughout creating a wholly unique experience. The melodies are so rich and lushly textured you can get lost in their set, forgetting the absence of a vocalist and lyrics they still mange to hold your attention. This duo have honed in on their style and perfected it meticulously. From the funky doused new track ‘Sleep’ to the crowd pleaser ‘Sugar Beats’ they deliver a satisfying set that has the crowd in a mad frenzy of dancing wiggling and moshing. These guys have an infectious refined sound all of their own and it’s pretty impressive.

Ape Rising take to the stage. ‘In Their Masses’ begins their set, full sounding with retro wobbly synths, punchy drums, elastic bass and crashing guitars it’s an anthemic start. The tracks fluidly follow each other with little banter between. This five piece belt out their dance alternative rock with ease. The flickering synths add that alien whine and obscurity to the tracks that set Ape Rising apart from the other bands out there. Energetic and passionate the lads pour their entire body and soul into their live set with Johno and Jimmy stopping to wipe their brows with a towel, it’s a sweaty spectacle. With songs about PlayStation games (Space Odyssey), Pac-Man and Fatal Deviation (an Irish martial arts movie) set to dance fuelled mosh ready punchy music with quirky synths it’s a fresh aerial experience. ‘Divide’ slows the tempo, introduced as the track for the “shift… to go in for the strike”. It’s sway-like with sweet harmonies and escalating synths. The five-piece put on a vigorous and spirited show packed with catchy tunes explosive crescendos and humorous banter with a sound that’s unique to them. It’s impossible not to be drawn into the band’s hypnotic whirlpool-world of spacey rock. It’s definitely worth checking them out live.

New Valley Wolves played the after party which though I had an early start the next day I had to stick around for. These guys are just too cool, too slick and fierce and their sound is unbelievable. Professional to the core and oozing fiery shit-hot power this supreme duo are the Dublin kings of rock and roll. Bluesy soaked and mighty, smothered in brawny basslines and skull bashing drums their tunes were crafted in the fiery depths of hell and polished by the devil. Too good for our mere mortal ears. An Epic end to an amazing night.