Birmingham's live music scene goes from strength to strength, says Andrew Cowen as he introduces the amazing Beestung Lips.

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It's a pretty good time to be out and about in Birmingham and if you're a regular gig-goer, you have probably come across Beestung Lips, the city's stylish purveyors of quality punk rock.

We're not talking about crusty Crass types but a very modern mixture of lethal riffs and razor-sharp hooks. It's all stirred up with a smudge of dayglo glam and the finished cocktail is pretty irresistible.

The band are the first to emerge on promoters' Capsule's new record label, a logical extension to their stirling work to rejuvenate the city's nightlife.

The band's debut EP, Songs To And From An Iron Gut, is out now, a whirlwind blast of intent that has got normally-sensible folk gibbering like fish.

Comprising the alleged Pearton brothers, Hetro, Pout, San Diego and Action, the band take the solidarity of the punk movement and fashions it into something rather special.

Short, sharp shocks of rock, delivered with passion, Beestung Lips pack more into the 15 minutes of the EP than many manage in a whole career. And that includes six songs.

The four members speak withn one voice so we'll credit the quotes to the Peartons.

Let's start by getting the background on the band and its genesis.

"We got together after a hazy night drinking. It all happened rather organically, nothing was really planned, it just happened," they say.

Like all good bands, they're wary about naming musical influences, but to these ears they have the fury and integrity of new punkers Gallows but shot through with an American hardcore edge. The songs may sound chaotic in parts but there are eight strong hands on the tiller.

"As far as influences are concerned, I think we have people we respect as a collective rather than try to sound like. For instance the writer, Charles Bukowski."

That's a good clue. Bukowski was the great American drinker and writer whose life became his art. A sleazy romantic, he lived life to the full like a beat poet on snakebite rather than hash.

The name too suits the band's sound well. It hints at passion, pain and glamour. In fact, it's one of the best I've heard. If I was forming a group tomorrow, I'd ask them to choose the name.

"It's funny you think that because we tend to get a very split opinion on the name," says one.

"I can't actually remember any of the names we didn't use. I do remember that the band was named after a girl's lips that a member of the band was dating."

With the music industry currently in a state of flux, you have to be pretty committed if you're in a band with any ambition. Sales of CDs are at rock bottom and the only way to make a crust is by gigging, something the Beestung Lips relish.

Regulars at the Custard Factory, they often have benefitted from Capsule's policy of booking local support bands for international acts. They're now ready to headline in their own right having earned their spurs in the live arena.

The band's long-term ambitions are simple: "We just want to survive and create music that we are proud of."

They certainly have the stamina for the long game.

"Gigs are an important part of what we want to do," they declare.

"We seem to the garnering a bit of a reputation for an infamous live show."

Indeed, you don't know Beestung Lips until you've seen them live. They're real crowd-pleasers of the old school, definitely a people's band.

They're not in it for the the cash either. "As far as money is concerned, I think, because we all have experience in other bands, we knew from the offset we were not going to make any money.

"If you want money get a job, whatever you do don't start a band."

Beestung Lips are dismissive of the NME's claim that Birmingham has suddenly become this hotbed of creativity.

A now notorious article in the weekly music magazine singled out a handful of Birmingham bands for greatness, spectacularly missing most of the underground action that has been keeping the city buzzing for years.

The say: "Rags like the NME don't really have much of a clue what's going on in general.

"They usually pick up on things too late and then don't get the facts right. Birmingham has always had its own thing going on and we think it will continue to.

"The fact that Birmingham is seen as an underdog compared to places like Camden makes us want to stay here."

In a lightning couple of years I wondered what have been the highlights so far?

The band all agree: "Playing with artists we respect such as Oxbow, Qui and Unsane."

They also cite playing the annual Supersonic festival and, of course, releasing the EP.

Track down a copy of the disc from one of the record shops in town if you want to see what the fuss is about. I asked the band if its smash and grab approach was typical of the their material.

They reply: "With the EP it was more a statement of intent.

"Fifteen minutes, six songs no silence.

"With the full length we are working on, I think people will be a little bit surprised. The songs have evolved.

"We aren't just trying to batter out songs at 1,000 miles an hour, I think we have refined what we are doing.

"The album will be out this year with luck. We have pretty much all the material down. It's just a case of booking the studio time and bashing it out."

Beestung Lips have nothing but praise for Lisa and Jenny, the heads of Capsule, Birmingham's most forward-thinking promoters. They share a similar attitude in which their art comes first. They just want to provide the very best for the city.

"We have all known the Capsule girls for a long while.

"They have always been supportive and are the best thing that's happened to Birmingham in a long while. The fact that they have released our EP just seems natural.

"I don't think any of us would want to be on any other label. We can't thank them enough."

www.myspace.com/beestunglips n www.capsule.org.uk ..SUPL: