Any Color Black / A-lix
Glasgow Captain's Rest (Tuesday 10th March)
Multi-national boy/girl duo A-lix have a very ‘now’ sound, as the two guitars and a laptop formula is fast becoming the next big thing. They are full of energy, jumping around on stage, and vocalist Vincent takes himself into the front rows of the audience. He takes on main vocal duties, whilst Lorena provides backing vocals. Their sound is like a mixture of Bis, Art Brut and the Presets, an electro feel with decent, raw guitars and slightly Franz Ferdinand-ish vocal stylings. Having secured support slots with Das Pop and The Faint, and an album, ‘Never Grow!’, they are well on their way to becoming well known outside of the local scene.
Second band of the evening, Any Color Black, are also a boy/girl duo, but the vocals are strictly female this time. Singer Louise has a powerful yet sweet voice that carries well, reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s or PJ Harvey, whilst lead guitarist Andy struts and poses like a pro. They like their effect pedals, making their sound much rougher and discordant, like Bloc Party at their most intense. The lyrics point to twisted love songs, with a very modern feel. Also finding themselves supporting fairly biggish names such as Ladyhawke, and with an E.P, ‘Touch Me’ released last December, they are well worth checking out.
Lynne McKinstray
