Secret Meeting score: 76

by Philip Moss

Enveloped by red curtains, Dream English Kid’s lead singer, Hannah Cobb, is all moody, gothic posturings. And after bringing the clatter board down with the motorik instrumentation of Pylon #I, ‘I’m so tired’, she refrains on Pylon #2. At just twenty years old, the naivety of youth seems to have made way for a startling maturity in Cobb. Her Nick Cave inspired, spoken word delivery skates atop blizzards of sound that evoke Mattiel’s recent debut LP – before giving way to an eruption wails reminiscent of Karen O, but with a fervid poise.

Light Alone’s deadly noise scape synths are juxtaposed by its floaty vocals – creating a sense of unease as Maria Toase’s tangle of tripping guitars wrap themselves around Liam Ogburn’s bass parts that would be more than at home on Tarantino’s Kill Bill soundtrack. While debut single, Swim In The Shallow – carrying more groove than its recorded counterpart, and again with a considered drive from Ogburn – allows the melodic, glittering synths to make their mark with a beautiful punch.

Closing pair, Waiting and In Alone, draw to mind early New Order dragging themselves through quicksand, but when Toase and Cobb combine vocally on the former it sonically takes the four piece to a uniquely special place that really sets them apart. This is a band that is still rough around the edges, and by no means the finished article. But with a little fine tuning, one feels it won’t be long before they are fully ready to blossom.

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