Thursday 14/06/07 Trabant, Funky Justice, The Netherlands @ Carling Academy, Liverpool

Fresh faced local band The Netherlands began the evening’s proceedings with a short set that showed a lot of promise despite a discordant guitar. The vocals, which sometimes bordered on speech, were capable and typical of indie kids du jour. The material was interesting and provided a good introduction to the band’s talents. Lyrics like "You get your kicks from crap DJ’s" were delivered with a wry enthusiasm.  Perhaps the stand out track being a ska tinged pop song about the sea, which only served to highlight the drizzling weather outside on this so called summer’s evening. Debut single ‘Where’d You Go To Alan?’ should do very nicely for this 5 piece, when it’s eventually released.

The minute Funky Justice took to the stage, you began to wonder what the hell they were going to sound like because they all look so different. There was none of this let’s all look trendy or weird business. Lead singer, Kim Rankin, certainly went against her appearance by delivering  vocals that seem to belong in another body.  She looks like someone who you’d bump into in Tesco’s but has a diva quality to her voice that would make Simon Cowell wet himself.

Rankin’s crisp vocals sparred with the saxophone. Her vocals during a free verse scale (think Pink Floyd’s ’ ’ The Great Gig In The Sky‘) were particularly impressive .  Funky Justice lived up to their name and showcased some good ol’ funk. Bassist Graeme Brown was particularly good. Rankin almost purred as she spoke between songs and before you know it their time was up. They finished with a sultry medley featuring ‘Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and ‘Superstition’ which although dubious in parts due to changes in tempo, had a sort of charm to it. All in all, it was a solid and confident performance by very likeable support act.