Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club – Fibbers – 15th June 2010

What The Cat Dragged In began the evening, presenting the audience with a brooding, moody sound, with the exception of one song dismissed by the group as emo-punk: To my ear, this was the best of their offerings. Lead vocalist Emily undoubtedly has a powerful voice, but this wasn’t exploited to the fullest extent with their slow-paced lilting melodies. Project Ruhe on the other hand, were far more upbeat. With essentially punk vocals and guitar playing they radiated a great deal of energy, though their music didn’t leap out as dramatically original.

However, as Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club prepared the stage for their performance, it seemed clear that what followed would be a “different” experience. Bunches of fake flowers tied to the mic stands and intermittent bursts from a fog machine piqued interest, and the sound of recorded birdsong playing as they took the stage did nothing to dispel the curiosity. Their first song was a slow, haunting, alternative-indie tune that immediately set them apart from any feel-good pop music, and the uniquely dark sound continued throughout the gig.

It is fair to say that VEGC are vocalists rather than singers; at first I found their wailing presence close to grating, but as their performance continued, their seemingly discordant sound grew on me. Adam Taylor and Louise Mason certainly don’t reach for choral harmonies, but their voices complement each other in a unique way as they bawl out the lyrics of their songs. A compellingly visceral, rhythmic quality persisted through all of their music; derived from drums, vocals and guitar (the fifth song in their set-list had a bass riff that could have been lifted directly from a Korn track). The final song of their set demonstrated this clearly, and crowned the evening’s music aptly. The powerful, driving bass was accompanied by a frenzied strobe light and a final burst of theatrical fog as they left the stage, having been a captivating presence throughout their show.

Trying to accurately describe VEGC’s music is hard. Personally, I thought that if Vampire Weekend were combined with The Horrors, and then subjected to some disturbing experiences, then they might come up with a similar sound. ‘Raw and unprocessed’ doesn’t quite do justice to Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club’s sound, but it does go some way to describing their overall aesthetic. One thing is for sure, X-Factor fans would run in fear from such stark originality. Even though they don’t fit in with the mainstream’s usual choice of music, they’re bold, different and talented. Seeing them with no prior knowledge of their music was the right choice, otherwise I would have been tempted not to attend, and I would definitely have missed out.

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