Not convinced? Well here�s proof enough: the ticking clock counting down to their appearance (�The Final Countdown�, anyone?), the elaborately rehearsed entrances and mobile phones-aloft spot-lit ballads. How about the �authentic� soul backing group for �Golden Touch�? They�re �Hot City Nights Vol. 2� right down to their drainpipe jeans tucked into white socks �n� sneakers. But above all that, it�s just the way they try so fucking hard to please.
Just look at their performance of �In the City�: the band breaks it down to a portent-heavy bass/drums throb� Johnny Borrell demands that everyone stops making any noise� �Stop clapping, stop laughing!� he implores, deadpan� the audience are silenced� they�re in the palm of his hand, waiting for his signal, then� Pow! The riffs drop and the crowd surges forward for a touch of their enigmatic hero. I mean, Bon Jovi or what?
Yeah, they�ve got that crowd-pleasing stuff down to a fine art. Funny really, because Borrell is a singer/songwriter locked in a frontman�s body, every heavy intonation and breathless whisper practised at countless acoustic support slots in crumby shitholes. It�s done the trick � he�s got tonight�s largely mid-teen audience by the knackers, most notably on the anthemic �Vice� and the scintillating new ska number �Keep The Right Profile�. �Up All Night� sounds thin and reedy, but it does on the album as well, so you can�t really complain. All this and two of the stiffest male nips in indie rock. Crazy, crazy, crazy nights�
Matt Cartmell