WHAT goes around comes around and walking into the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston is like going back in time to the late 1970s.

Either that, or there is something very alive and kicking again in the indie-punk subculture and women are leading it.

Political, narcissistic, frightening, beautiful and full of life, The Ethical Debating Society — TEDS as they’re called by fans — create an atmosphere that thankfully lacks the sweat of testosterone but has all the rebellion of punk.

Like their punk predecessors songwriters Tegan and Kris on vocals and Eli on drums do this because they can and their raw, uncompromising, jagged-edged indie garage-punk on opener Child’s Play hits you hard with its staccato assault — there’s no bass in the line-up.

Future Imperfect, with its warning alarm guitars and taunting lyrical chants, shows the underlying creative tension between the two unique songwriters and the swapping of lead vocals juxtaposes the cut-glass delivery of Tegan with the warmth of Kris.

Creosote Ideas is particularly powerful with “You won’t find it here!” spat out by a clearly fired-up Tegan. Mission Creep follows and the change in vocalist to Kris is a nice switch before Poor Liam and Sum of my Parts.

Showcasing a majority of songs from debut album New Sense tonight, it is the last three songs which display TEDS at their beautifully discordant raging best.

Kill You Last is a scary, blisteringly intense song with danger oozing out of interplayed guitar chords over Eli’s solid Mo Tucker-like rhythm as Tegan sings: “I like you, I like you, but you repeat yourself, I will kill you last.”

Cover-up, “a pop song about the end of the world,” has some seriously intense guitar from Kris and a real punk sensibility.

Closing song Razor Party is a wanton aural guitar mugging that swells and grows as the band relax, safe in the knowledge that they have survived these songs, breathed fire into them and put all the emotion that they can into conviction, positivity and anger before bursting through on the other side of sonic art, warped beauty and all.

Review by Bob Oram