It’s Friday night at Amps; how better to kick off the evening than with four bands from the blooming Perth indie-pop scene? Interestingly not one band out of Ichi the Killer, Wales, Boys!Boys!Boys! and Harlequin League have been around for much longer than a year, yet all four have gained reputations on the live circuit… but it’s not all about the music.

Ichi the Killer were nothing to write home about, unless you’ve also discovered that their namesake is a violent Japanese movie about a sadomasochist yakuza. Simply put, there was nothing groundbreaking about the boys’ performance, although the sounds that they cranked out were entertaining and certainly likeable. Vocalist Liam Kennedy is a thrashing maniac with plenty of stage presence, and that definitely helps keep the punters at least mildly interested in what the band has to offer.

Let’s get it out of the way. The vast majority of the crowd that turned up to see four-piece Wales were interested solely in vocalist and keyboardist Angela Flood. With good reason, it seems, as the young lady commands attention with her ethereal vocals and (ahem) exceptional aesthetic qualities. Not forgetting the rest of the band, of course, who play their instruments to perfection to create that catchy, danceable, Cure-like sound… they just aren’t as cute as Miss Flood, and lack the sensual grace with which she charms the heck out of anyone listening. Alternately girl-bellowing and breathing the lyrics, Flood joins the likes of Jenny Lewis, Cat Power and the Quin twins; female vocalists of the indie-pop persuasion, highly desired for both looks and talent. Keep an eye on Wales; there’s no doubt they’ll be huge when they release their debut early this year.

Whipping their way through a 10-song set and thoroughly warming up the crowd’s dancing shoes were the confusingly named Boys!Boys!Boys! …Okay, there are four girls and two boys. Is it a joke? Irony gone wrong with a lineup change? Whatever the reason, the name does nothing to harm the popularity of the band who are the very epitome of kitsch on crack. The concept of ‘girl power’ isn’t so much implied as wrapped in a brick and used to beat you about the ears, but at least they’re having fun, and the crowd was too. The instrumentation of the six piece band is flawless, although channeling the Go-Go’s chick vocal harmonies and handclaps caused some consternation in the crowd. They may have to prove that they’re not one-trick ponies, but it’s clear that their song Mountains is influenced by artists who aren’t purely pop boy/girl bands. Later in the set, some audience members were reduced to games of which of the girls on stage they’d do and in what order (Olga of Snowman fame appearing to evoke the most heated arguments), while the rest of the room seemed content to bop along to the catchy, cute strains of the Boys, particularly during their cover of Kids in America.

In their first headlining gig for 2008, the winners of last year’s Next Big Thing competition have a few more accolades under their belt: nominations for Favourite Newcomer and Most Promising in the WAMi Awards. The former is voted by the public, the latter by the industry, so it’s nice to see that Harlequin League ’s potential is being recognised at both ends of the spectrum. Filling the Amplifier floor to capacity and delivering a tight, well-paced set of a dozen songs, it is hard to find fault with the three boys who were absolutely tearing up the stage on the night. There are superficial things we can pick on, like the all-too hardcore bandanna and the slightly ridiculous spectacle of ‘rocking out’ on a keyboard… but never mind. Harlequin League have a reputation for fierce vocals and aggressive sound, both of which were flawlessly showcased to the frantic mass of punters crowding the stage. Their style is a little bit reminiscent of British India and other chaotic-sounding indie bands that consist purely of males but with the kind of synth rush that would leave Brandon Flowers wanting. The testosterone must help, as the boys are definitely slotting themselves firmly in for future exploits. See them outperform this effort when they appear at the Big Day Out.