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Local Natives played only their second ever UK gig last night while opening for camp pop veterans Of Montreal in Shepherds Bush. There’s been a lot of hype, Music Mule included, for this band who were one of the biggest pulls this year at the industry scouting den that is SXSW music festival. Keen to see if they could re-create those beautiful harmonies live we headed to West London.

The five-piece delivered an excellent set of tracks taken from their forthcoming debut ‘Gorilla Manor’. ‘World News’ and ‘Stranger Things’ in particular were enthralling but out and out show stealers were, potentially huge single, ‘Airplanes’ (video above) and the Talking Heads song ‘Warning Signs’ which is one of the best covers in a long time. They truly owned that track live.

Their sound in general is a fun one with AMAZING harmonies which are a little more Beach Boys than Fleet Foxes, although there are definitely comparable elements between the bands especially during their slower, soft guitar led numbers. Local Natives though are poppier and more percussive than the Foxes, with impressive drumming coming from vocalist/keyboardist Kelsey as well as their full time drummer.

The band are obviously delighted to be over in the UK and receiving such a warm welcome. Kelsey later tells me with some surprise that their debut show at The Lexington, the night previous, was packed and that everyone knew the words. It won’t be long before much bigger venues are shouting their lyrics back at them. Local Natives play one more London show tonight and then a set at Latitude Festival this Friday evening before heading home to the U.S. You can bet your house they’ll be back though.

Of Montreal were never going to let the show be stolen from them though. Well at least not visually. First up the stage is invaded by what one presumes is the band wearing animal masks. A tall (in hindsight way too tall for Kevin Barnes) suited character in a Tiger Mask assumes the position of frontman and begins to roar into the mic as the other masked members blast out some offensive death metal type dirge. Cue the real Of Montreal including a white thigh height booted Mr Barnes and angel winged guitarist to come on an kick their arses off the stage. It turns out that the four intruders are to re-appear regularly throughout the show to perform various homo-erotic acts of bizarreness including slaughtering a person dressed as a pig and gassing one of the four with a sabotaged present while the other three look on and laugh from the safety of their presents (gas masks). Wow they know how to put on a good freak show!

The music does get overshadowed quite a bit by all the theatrics and the playing and sound seems a little off on occasions. Newer material form ‘Skeletal Lamping’ is welcomed by the crowd but with the exception of ‘Id Engager’ it’s tracks from 2007′s epic ‘Hissing Fauna..’ album that provoke the biggest reaction. The super camp psychedelic pop stomper that is ‘Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse’ in particular as well as ‘She’s A Rejector’, a standout this evening. Even at slightly below par, the 10minute plus ‘The Past Is A Grotesque Animal’ can never fail to wow.

mp3: Local Natives - Airplanes

mp3: Of Montreal - Id Engager