Thursday 05/02/04 Electrelane, Flamingo 50, The Vinyls @ Barfly, Liverpool

Ah, to be first support act on a weekday at the Barfly. It must be a daunting prospect in any case, knowing that you’ll most likely have to play to an empty room. Aspiring classic rockers The Vynyls have really got the shit end of this, however. They’ve been bumped off another bill and shoved onto this one, and they look as disappointed by this as the audience. Sonically they occupy the tiny area of space inbetween The Verve and Starsailor, and as their Nick McCabe-esque guitarist teases out feebly unspectacular guitar effects through the barrage of overly-familiar pub ballads, it’s clear that they don’t even have style over content down pat. Until they manage to shove a vaguely original, catchy melody in here somewhere, they’ll continue to struggle to fill the Barfly, never mind the stadiums for which their genre is intended. It’s not fair that they’re on this bill, playing to a crowd who probably won’t like them anyway, but that’s no excuse for being dull.

As for the Flamingo 50…well, what can we say that’s not been said before? They remain the finest turbo-charged punk rock act this fair city has to offer, and it seems unfair that we still have to wait another month for the release of their fantastic album ‘My Reason’. Whilst Morgan pounds away at the back and Laura’s cool composure make for a brilliant onstage contrast, it’s reassuring to see that Louise is still fraught with as much energy and passion as she was during their emergence almost four years ago. Seek out last single ‘First In Line’ as proof of just how exciting their brand of rock really is. Bands like this only come along once in a lifetime. Now’s the time to discover them for yourself.

Of course, they’re the perfect introduction to Electrelane’s louche instrumental pop. If you thought it must be crap being from a place as stiltifyingly boring as Brighton, you’re clearly wrong. And if latest album ‘The Power Out’ sounds like an exciting prospect, it’s nothing compared to their live onslaught. Emma Gaze’s astonishingly precise drumming makes their synth-driven arty riffarama sound more like a live Ladytron, but it’s the bewitching allure of the synth-guitar collision itself that makes them so exciting. It’s minimalism at its most dense, and is far more entertaining than it probably should be. To sum up: Brighton post-rocks. And brilliantly.

Photos by Sakura Henderson