Monday 24/07/06 Ali Love, Maude @ The Barfly, Liverpool

Man of the moment Ali Love stands transfixed before the stage as from nowhere appears something very special indeed.  Maude may only be a couple of gigs into their career but that’s presumably because they’ve been honing their art in some far-off galaxy (well, either there or in other bands) where the young are taught that ‘A’ stands not for ‘Apple’ but for ‘Avant-garde’.  Classic retro cool rings from siren singer Lynsey Packman while her band make a sound that takes in everything from Quasar shoot-outs to the most Velvet-esque of underground indie.  It’s a little bit Deerhoof, a little bit Broadcast but most definitely Maude – we’ll have more of this please.

Alas, Maude haven’t brought any more, so it’s over instead to Ali Love to keep the magic flowing.  Despite battling hangovers sustained at one of Liverpool’s premiere hotels (OK, it was only the Formule 1) the night before, Ali and his band ease their way into proceedings with current AA side ‘Video Dream Girl’.  It quickly becomes apparent that Ali Love live is a different proposition to that on record – gone are the stuttering drum machines and in comes a power house drummer, removing some of the cheap ‘n’ cheerful charm of the single but adding a warm glow to Ali’s tales of nights gone wrong.

Songs like ‘Going On The Pull’ and ‘Rebound Lover’ reveal a socialite sensibility evocative of a sexed-up Rakes, but Ali’s deffo a glam cat at heart – that curled lip delivery, the occasional lazy shake of the hips and those languid stabs at the strings are positively Bolan.  And musically, he has that uncanny ability to write songs that sound like you’ve known ‘em all your life – like hearing Jamie T covering Buddy Holly, or The Ramones being filtered through a Korg synth.  It might not be groundbreaking stuff, but try listening to it and getting it out of your head for the rest of the week.  It’s not easy - Gigwise can testify to that.

‘K Hole’ is the one that really hammers his point home – every bit as insistent as The Streets’ ‘Fit But You Know It’ but stripped of Skinner’s whingeing.  Like coming home the next morning in last night’s clothes (or without them, in this song’s case), ‘K Hole’ is at once the regret of the comedown and the boast of the ‘got-lucky’ – the lipstick on the left cheek and the bruise on the other side.  The fact that it rocks harder than an Atari Teenage Riot remix of Motörhead probably helps as well.  This talented bastard is gonna break hearts.  For now though, join the Love-in.