I really am digging Cabaret Voltaire’s series of Duty Free gigs (ie, free entry). I think they’re co-sponsored by The List, so fair play to both of them as it really makes me far more likely to take a bit of a chance on something that I might think twice about shelling out a fiver for.

I feel a bit guilty actually, as my friend Morgan has vowed to take me to all sorts of interesting gigs I’d never get to under my own steam and what do I take him to in return? Absolutely stereotypical NME-friendly indie-pop: the sort of stuff that you can hear every minute of every day on XFM, assuming you are so musically apathetic as to be able to bring yourself to tune into that embarrassment of a station to begin with.

That sounds like Operahouse were bad, of course, and that was absolutely not the case. Actually they were really rather good. There wasn’t much audience interaction nor that much rock ‘n’ roll posturing, which may explain why they have yet to build up much in the way of feverish hype. What they had, however, were plenty of good tunes, played with the confidence of a band who bely both their youth and relative inexperience. They aren’t exactly beginners, but they have a very solid, unflappable stage presence that makes them seem like veterans.

If you play music that hits a middle ground between the likes of the Libertines, early Razorlight and late Futureheads then there is so little to digest in terms of new style that the one and only thing that will make you stand out is the hummability of your tunes. New single Born a Boy, first single Man Who Lives Next Door and Machine Palace all deliver in spades on this count and, although these are clearly the best of the tracks, the rest of the set contained plenty of stuff to enjoy.

They may not set the world on fire, but I was quietly impressed and reckon that if they can steer closer to the quality of their best then they could just make a decent career out of this music lark. It’s nothing clever, just good solid indie-pop. The single Born a Boy is really infectious too. I’d love to post it here but that would just be mean, so go out and buy it and enjoy.

Operahouse – The Man Who Lives Next Door
Operahouse – Machine Palace (Demo)
Operahouse – Jarvis

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