Power Lunches was a great venue, and I saw some fantastic bands there before it closed down in 2015.

One of the best was Shopping, a post-punk trio made up of Ray Aggs, Billy Easter, and Andrew Milk.

Their sound was influenced by Delta 5, Talking Heads, and Gang of Four.

They had something different, though, because Aggs's guitar was also influenced by West African highlife music, giving them these brilliant off-kilter rhythms.

The brilliant thing about the venue and the band was that the band members actually worked there, too.

You'd watch this amazing set down in the basement and then go straight to the bar and buy a drink from them afterwards!

There were also big overlaps with the scene around DIY Space for London.

I’ve gone for three Shopping songs for the blog, alongside tracks by Trash Kit, which means Ray Aggs is heavily featured across my 1,000 songs!

Their 2013 debut single "In Other Words" was actually recorded at Power Lunches.

In Other Words by Shopping

"The Hype", off 2018's "The Official Body', shows them at their most rhythmic and danceable, driven by Ray's brilliant guitar work.

The Hype by Shopping

Then "Initiative", from 2020’s "All or Nothing", brings in a bouncier, electronic feel without losing any of their edge.

Initiative by Shopping

Shopping is exactly how I like my punk. It's raw, it's authentic, but, importantly, they are still proper songs!