Friday 19 October, 2001

Well, it's been a while since anybody really had a good night out, hasn't it? The last one I had was during peace-time and quite possibly during the last century. So it's about time someone played a gig, really, isn't it? And who better to start us, as Jeremy Paxman might say, "For Ten", than Lancaster's reigning upstart poptarts Angelica?

Who better? Well, how about the very agreeably shouty Bring Out The Freaks. Hailing from Wolverhampton Da Freaks have a fine, full-frontal approach to both their music and their audience, or rather their singer does - wearing the renegade school uniforms of St Brett Anderson's Elementary Grammar, she was flanked by what appeared to be the smallest guitar player in the world, straining under the disproportionate weight of his guitar. Lyrical references to masturbation were backed up by a very fetching mime involving a guitar, although I suspect that if you didn't know what the word meant when she said it, this wouldn't have cleared matters up, so to speak. The music was, largely, very enjoyable: traces of Placebo, and Hole, inevitably, but all rather well done. My only consideration was that a leetle bit more variation in the songs would have been welcome. Even in the dark, a bit of light and shade can make a lot of difference.

Fittingly (in a radio-2-link-stylee) variations of all sorts were to be found in abundance in Angelica's set. After a suitably shouty entrance, they slipped comfortably into something that reminded me of nothing so much as the early Cure. Coming out of that, we get back to the revved-up girl-group chants that you tend to associate with Angelica, and they do these particularly well. Whilst Holly Ross is an effectively aloof frontwoman, they seem to be at their most impressive when singing en masse. I'm sure I misheard the title of their new single (much as I wish it really were called "Liberation makes me lonely". Sorry, it's the tinnitis that does it, you know), but it seemed like an astute choice - a good hook, rammed well and truly home.

One thing which was very clear during tonight's show is that Angelica look very much like a band who are trying very hard to broaden their horizons, musically. "The Seven Year Itch", title track to their forthcoming album, showed this off well: plenty of changes in riffs and dynamics, but set up against aggresive attitudes. Importantly, things never get so sophisticated that they don't sound simple. If Angelica are absorbing new knowledge, they're still staying true to their original attitude.

On the negative side, whilst the kittens and schoolgirl crushes have (perhaps mercifully) vanished, the trick of the band cutting out altogether, leaving Holly singing alone is only really effective in one or two songs, at most. If I was to be really picky, perhaps the set was a song or too overlong as well. But these things aside, I'm mostly just happy to have seen a room full of people getting off on a real rock band who play and talk to us like they're at one with us. Much has been made of the publicity which Angelica have attracted, but I think it's time to start listening to their music in depth - the best stuff looks like it's yet to come.

Paddy Garrigan