September 18, 2000

London King's Cross Water Rats

Deserves a massive shiny medal.

Wacky name, isn't it? What you might call your scabby organic broth stall at Glastonbury while juggling your pet weasels in a jester hat.

It's a shame they've chosen such a duff name, because there's nothing very zany about the pitch-black lyrics that vocalist Ange Dolittle is hurling about tonight: "One of these days I'm gonna get me sectioned off", he broods during the especially black 'Me And Libby Part II'.

However, the music itself is as sparkly as disco knickers, and BYM manage to achieve the near impossible by mixing a blend of dancey beats with bright pop melodies that deceptively smuggle lines of dark poetry under their shiny wrappers. And the guitars help. Where the debut album, 'Wherever You Go There You Are', was programmed on clinical, knob-covered machines, the real instruments of the live Muffin add several extra layers of throb.

But it's ex-Eat frontman Dolittle who really elevates the show. His rich voice and high hair never fail to keep the audience wide-eyed. The set is claustrophobic with broody tunes that burst into infectious choruses. In a world where the 'concept', message or history of a band seem to matter more than the music, a band that bases its stock in down-home, back-to-basics tunes deserves a massive shiny medal.