Tuesday 09/05/06 The Little Flames, Die! Die! Die! @ The Barfly, Cardiff

A colossal wave of Mersey talent has been and gone over the past few years, or should we say decades, and a few sceptics have argued that The Little Flames have missed out on their time to shine. If the band had been breaking through a year or so ago they could've aligned themselves with the likes of fellow Merseyside bands The Dead 60s and The Zutons. This argument on the surface is pretty lightweight due to the fact The Little Flames will be supporting The Zutons during a UK tour next month and have also warmed up for the likes of The Coral and more recently the ubiquitous Sheffield outfit, Arctic Monkeys. With this impressive pedigree in toe, the band clearly don't need to rely on regional musical movements to ensure they get a fair stab at mainstream success.

Support came from the pleasantly named Die! Die! Die!, who looked reasonably miffed at the poor turnout. This didn't detract lead singer Andrew Wilson from making the sparse floor his own by lying down prostrate and then flinging himself from all angles. The tunes were definitely there but for the most part they swamped their sound in heavy bass and indecipherable vocals which were more jovial than poignant.

As soon as the stage was cleared and the floor cleaned, The Little Flames humbly made their way onto the stage to the hellish sound of 'Meols Reggae'. The static opener was full of eerie guitars and the nubile Eva Peterson's pierced vocals were distinct throughout. As the set progressed at a frenetic pace, the band submerged itself into a groove that was taut and allowed little room for whig-outs, especially on former single 'Goodbye Rose', a quality slice of indie-funk.

Peterson and her band were mute between laments but their coyness was buried with the scrambled 'Put Your Dukes Up, John'. Peterson was exchanging vocals between guitarist's Miles Kane and Mat Gregory whilst Greg Mighall's drum breaks went into overdrive. The set concluded with the freewheeling 'That Brat's A Fiend', carrying on the immediate wall of sound that the band pole-axed in less than half an hour. On his form, The Little Flames should hold their own regardless of what their musical neighbours are doing.