April 28, 1999

London Camden Falcon

Like a Scouse [a]Beastie Boys[/a], [B]Hollingsworth[/B] and co-vocalists[B] James Bailas[/B] and [B]Steve Bray[/B] swap verses and instruments, working the stage with total assurance...

Things are not going well. Six songs in and Airborne's lead singer Paul Hollingsworth isn't happy with the reception. There he's been for the last half-hour pumping this stuff out, this dub/funk/rock/kitchen sink melange and all he sees is an audience of folded arms.

But Paul's not too bothered, really. Even when giving us a wake-up call, he smiles like he's addressing Wembley Stadium. And certainly, this Liverpool band, just one single old, possess an attitude big enough to fill such a venue.

Like a Scouse Beastie Boys, Hollingsworth and co-vocalists James Bailas and Steve Bray swap verses and instruments, working the stage with total assurance. Sadly, though, there's a black hole at the centre of Airborne's self-belief where the tunes, grooves or ideas should be - even if they can do big-beat rampages like 'Book 'Em Danno' or 'CCTV' with the brute force of The Chemical Brothers and Primal Scream combined.

But that's the trouble. They just sound like another dance-rock band. Only 'State Of Me' - that rarest of things, a big-beat ballad - stays in the mind. All of which suggests Airborne are destined to remain resolutely earthbound.