Wednesday 24/08/05 The Blood Arm, The Sunshine Underground @ 100 Club, London

The charming city of Leeds, famous for coal extraction and moody footballers, can now boast a completely new accolade, which could be acutely described as the ‘West Yorkshire Yelp.’ Already demonstrated mercilessly on stages around the globe by those cheeky mugs Kaiser Chiefs, it has become readily accepted and even somewhat expected in today’s all-embracing pop culture. You know what I’m getting at? Hark back to the bridge of indie disco classic ‘I Predict A Riot’ and you will hear the trademark shriek, one-part Scooby-doo chase, another part Home Alone after-shave slap, slowly becoming more frantic and feverish until it boils over into the chorus. Well be warned, this little vocal workout is spreading faster than a severe case of bird-flu.

Take The Sunshine Underground for example, another batch of Leeds alumini, who at the 100 Club sprinkle their twisted take on punk funk with a healthy serving of these shrieks and cackles, "When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain?", well, most probably in another fairly unassuming venue never quite breaching the headline slot. That is not to say the The Sunshine Underground don’t entertain, songs bound along hypnotically, employing disco beats, raging raw cowbells and chugging guitars. Occasionally, even a melody stirs from the fringes to achieve a harmony that once even eluded The Rapture. However, on too many occasions, songs reside in the purely rhythmical, the guitarist romantically looking upon his FX like a laboratory, adding fizzes and pops sporadically but never really taking a firm hold. Yet there are moments when it threatens to engage and these boys will no doubt build on this.

The Blood Arm on the other hand, seem to be trying to persuade the world that they’re Vikings intent on pillage despite there being no-one who disagrees. They arrive onstage to a preamble so bizarre and unnerving that it leaves the audience somewhat bewildered as to what to expect. However, any reservations were quickly cast aside with the stage theatrics of singer Nathaniel Fregoso, he darts round like a man possessed, convincing us that his love for the limelight can never be usurped. New single ‘Say Yes’ starts off with a childlike piano hook but then is quickly kidnapped into their own gingerbread house of crunching guitars and seedy leering by Fregoso. At some points it does come dangerously close to the gothic cabaret of The Dresden Dolls, but other shining single ‘Do I Have Your Attention?’ while sounding flimsy on record, suddenly takes on an added vitality and malice reminiscent of early Pixies. Fregoso is really their key, all curls and smiles, he regularly dallies into the audience handing out kisses and sweet nothings that are, for the most part, embraced readily, and at worst gratefully accepted. Hailing from the shiny shores of LA, it’s no wonder that drama surrounds this band, and the show ends in decidedly dramatic circumstances, cue collapsed drum kit, over-perspiring lead singer and a flurry of feedback, the blood red backdrop of the 100 Club has probably never been so appropriate…