You wanted beards. And yes I can confirm, Chewbacca has joined My Morning Jacket. But even if each strand of Jim James’s facial fuzz could also strum a guitar in mass-hair-unity, it wouldn’t have managed to exceed the euphoric wall of sound bouncing off the walls at Somerset House last week.

I have to admit before so much as a shadow appeared on stage, I was already near pant-wetting excitement. Not only have this mid-western quintet produced 6 nuclear-glowingly beautiful albums, but they are also known for their peerless forceful live act, which I was about to see for the first time.

Starting with Victory Dance, the band’s impeccably polished and tight dominance began. Gideon showed of the ease of which Jim’s vocals can switch from an anguished howl to a falsetto croon and it was to be at least 20 minutes in when they decide to first speak. After stating that our elegant surroundings are as “fucking epic” as was promised, Jim leaves us with an interesting concept of the moist weather reminding him of umbilical fluid, before plunging into Golden.

Touch Me Im Going To Scream Pt 2 was a delirious highlight of the night, the jangly keyboard swelled into a melodic harmony that soared well above the walls into the night sky. The phenomenally slick new single Holding On To Black Metal held my only complaint. As powerful as it was, it could have blown our heads clean off with the addition of a live choir and booming horns as seen at some of their American performances.

The super-extended version of Dondante could teach The Vaccines a thing or two about song length. It may have lasted nearly a month, but as the track swirled, bled and poured towards the epic chorus you were ready to relinquish your life's goals and just admire the sheer craftsmanship and guitar dexterity of our hirsute friends.

As One Big Holiday ended the night’s set with ferocious southern rock, it was clear from the stunned and slightly soggy crowd that no-one quite believed it would be this good. Richly evocative psychedelic-rock played with a ceaseless amount of frenzy and commitment - they managed to outshine their sophisticated British surroundings, in shaggy, hairy, Kentucky style.