Veronica Falls, The Dome, Tufnall Park, London, 23 October 2013

Veronica Falls played an accomplished and engaging set. They rattled through favourites and new material and kept the rather international audience enthralled.

The band's sound mixed melodic harmonies with a more scuzzy indie rock vibe with a pop sensibility. The lyrics are worth a listen too, quite dark at times but also witty. 

While they were playing we kept a note of where we thought we could spot musical nods, parallels or heritage. It is a tribute to the band that they have a tight, uniform sound throughout and at the same time got us thinking of early Blur, baggy, Depeche Mode, the Housemartins, Orange Juice and Teenage Fanclub.

Top notch music and an enjoyable show.

Bleached, Dome, Tufnell Park, London, 23 Oct 2013

Bleached played a fantastic rocking show. They were really tight and hammered through a well-structured set. 

The band connected brilliantly with the audience who really got into the show. 

Their playing was really finely honed throughout, but four or five songs really stood out, including a magnificent Dead in the Head and When I Was Yours, which they closed with, and really rocked out on.

Look forward to seeing them again before too long.

Theme Park, Scala, 13 Oct 2013

Fantastic performance brought the sunshine inside and got the audience dancing on a chilly Tuesday night.

The band sounded great and played really well, with punchy bass and Nile Rogers guitars. The set list worked really well too, with a quality cover of Jessie Ware's Wildest Moments and a strong run at the end of the set.

The dramatic ending to Blind made us remember how great a clattering finale with everyone joining in to pound drums can be. It seems to have been overdone so much in recent years, but Theme Park showed how it should be done.

Night Engine, Scala, London, 15 Oct 2013

Eighties-influenced pop, with some funky basslines. A couple of real stand out tracks and some nice dynamics at times.

Fanfarlo, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, 1 October

A high octane evening to celebrate the band's new EP opened with The Sea. Fanfarlo's set showcased their accomplished musicianship, but not at the expense of an up tempo and thoroughly enjoyable set. The violin was classy, and we loved the trumpet and sax. 

The band's multi-instrumental songs which managed to conjure 80s alt-pop, rock and a bit of folk together with some beautiful harmonies put us in mind of the Delgados overall. Their versatility, tightness and spark as a band meant they didn't stop there.

The guitars were ditched to perform the the second track on the EP. This had a really danceable beat and made us feel a bit Talking Heads.

Fanfarlo hammered through their set. They got the funk for an unlikely love song about having a cold and whipped up the crowd for a cover if Orange Juice's Rip It Up. 

The evening finished with a not at all surprise encore. Fanfarlo and the audience seemed thoroughly elated.

Pale Seas, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, 1 October 2013

Melodic, jangly rock, driven by the lead singer's acoustic guitar and quite reminiscent of late 80s US college radio sounds. There were nice harmonies between lead singer and girl drummer. They also have a bit of a secret weapon in the bassist doubling up on keys and effects.

They  had a well prepared set list and strong transitions between songs which worked really well.

The way the last song really built to create an enveloping sound of first vocals then instrumentals was really good. A bit reminiscent of Carwash Hair-era Mercury Rev at times and of Mona at others. It would be great to hear some more of their material.