July 27, 2000

Oxford Point

They do loud bits and quiet bits, but they also do bits that are plain spooky.

Forget the awful name and forget that tonight's opening bassline is nicked squarely from Bauhaus' 'Bela Lugosi's Dead', because there might just be magic at work here.

The Wardrobe are a five-piece from west London, fronted by angel-voiced bassist Sarah Naylor. Behind her are three guitarists, including co-vocalist James Nicholls, who's about 7ft tall and has a voice so deep it barely registers - except in the pit of your stomach. Together they write elongated passages of noise with titles like 'I Am A Village' and 'And All the Children Wore Sarcastic Faces', which sound like Peter, Paul & Mary addled on tranquillisers and completely misunderstanding the idea of Sonic Youth.

They do loud bits and quiet bits, but they also do bits that are plain spooky. The soporific atmosphere is always ripe to be punctured by something unearthly. That The Wardrobe are unable to pass a pop song in the street without battering it out of shape hardly bodes well for stardom. But it'd be tragic of they were lost in the void that condemned Quickspace and Telstar Ponies - The Wardrobe's most obvious kin - to obscurity.

"1,2,3,4" intones James in true rock'n'roll style, followed by a deathly hush. Perfect.

Rate this gig

Average rating

Be the first to rate this gig

To read all our reviews first - days before they appear online - check out NME magazine, on sale every Wednesday

For the latest music videos and backstage interviews, check out our sister site, NME Video.