Tuesday 13/02/07 The Violets, Mirror! Mirror! @ Madame Jo Jos, London

Most bands struggle to take command of one sound and do it well, tonight opening act Mirror! Mirror! are a schizophrenic mash-up of nearly everything that followed punk and somehow it works perfectly. There’s the jerky, rhythmical funk of post-punk with added cowbells, face melting post-hardcore wig-outs and vocals that constantly switch between yelps and full on screams. Tracks like ‘French Ladder’ and the brilliantly monikered ‘A Pony And A Bag Of Hooves’ in a split second take us from dance step inducing to mosh-pit producing and back again. To say they are a bit of a revelation to Gigwise is an understatement, this is a space definitely worth watching.

The Violets therefore have a lot to follow in our minds and they don’t disappoint. Alexis, looking like she just walked out of a hammer horror movie via the your mums 80s wardrobe, prowls the stage as she tries to entice and scare the audience at the same time. The brooding, ethereality of ‘Hang And Fall’ adds gothic ambiance before it is cut short by a scything movement into the wall of feedback that is ‘Descend’. It’s a dank, wet night in Soho and things just got a little darker.

Latest single ‘Foreo’ is stripped back, straight ahead punk. A little nod to Siouxsie And The Banshees for sure and performed with a visceral intent second to none. There is no dead weight, just the simple combination of drums and guitars that gives us the speed and direction while Alexis, who throughout the set interchanges her delivery between nonchalance and intense scowls, gives the character and depth.

A short, sharp set sees the three piece plough through ‘Hush Away’, ‘Emerald’ and ‘Forget Me Not’ before it is brought to a close by the tribal drums and swirling guitars of ‘Carnival’. The band exit the stage with perfect timing, leaving us wanting more, amidst a barrage of ear piercing feedback that takes on a life of its own and snakes off into city night.