Viennetta, Hearts!Attack & The Lovely Eggs, Live at Henry’s Cellar Bar, 31st October 2011
 This was a bit of an impromptu excursion, I have to confess, and when I realised I’d forgotten my bank card and turned up at Henry’s with no more than a fiver and a handful of coins in my pocket it looked like just a little more planning might have been advisable. But it turned out to be a significant enough handful of coins to pay for a couple of pints, in the end, so disappointment was averted.
The gig itself was a Halloween night presented by the relatively new Edinburgh promoter John Truckasaurus, who we collaborated with in moving Viking Moses from his own bill to the lineup for the Rob St. John album launch. This time he was working with an Edinburgh University-based fanzine The Edinburgh Rascal, and whatever they’re doing, they seem to be doing it right, because Henry’s was bloody busy for a Monday night.
Anyhow, first up were a band called Viennetta, who were pretty decent. I’ll confess that even though I largely enjoyed it, I wouldn’t describe it as any more than a positive start. The guitars were strongly reminiscent of The Sound of Young Scotland-era Edinburgh, which is a good thing, but very much smoothed off by the subsequent years of indie-pop, and I guess I wished they’d either be a lot more awkward and challenging, or just go the other way and write a bunch of really catchy pop songs. Either way, they’re a new band, with more than enough time for development, and I certainly won’t be judging them on the basis of one gig this early in proceedings.
Hearts!Attack followed next, and I am fan of this band, but it didn’t really come across all that well live, unfortunately. Initially the sound guy struggled a bit, but after that the melodies still didn’t quite manage to extricate themselves from the rattle. The songs I already knew sounded great, because I knew what I was listening for, but it was a bit like listening to music on an old car stereo – fine if you know it, but not the best way to get a feel for something new.
Hearts!attack – If You Were Dead
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After a couple of tepid responses, however, I really enjoyed The Lovely Eggs. If I am being honest, I can find them unbearably twee and cutesy on record. There comes a point where the kookiness is so extreme that it seems a little forced and I get to the point where I find myself wondering if the band actually have anything to say, or if they’ve just been half-arsing around for the last however-many years.
Live, it’s got a very different feel, however. The guitar snarls a shitload more, and Holly wails at you like a punk-rock banshee – well, half the time anyway, the playful ingenue is still there somewhere. Live, they’re a punk two piece, and the music just has a punch about it which I have yet to really encounter in their recorded stuff. “Don’t look at me I don’t like it” takes on a whole different complexion when it’s being screeched at you by a short blond lass in a red dress making her guitar squeal like she’d embedded one of her heels in its hand.
The Lovely Eggs – Don’t Look at Me (I Don’t Like It)
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