The Virgins and Amazing Baby was surely one of the biggest pre-festival line-ups of recent months.  In much the same way as Vampire Weekend and MGMT really exploded after triumphant sets at Glasto and the rest last summer one feels that  were these two to play on the same bill in the Autumn, it would be in bigger surroundings that the baby catacombs of Heaven.

Of course, these crude comparisons do not mean these bands sound particularly alike.  The Virgins are a world away from Vampire Weekend’s drifting afro-indie, whilst

Amazing Baby have been a victim of being compared to MGMT since forever, mainly because, as far as I can see, they are both from Brooklyn, a bit psychadelic, and both have undoubtedly dabbled in narcotics at some time or another.

Amazing Baby are infinitely more rocky; a mash-up of psyche, UK Indie and US cock-rock with the occasional Chilli Peppers bassline chucked in to keep things funky.  Their songs swirl around the stage, ominously at first, before frequently morphing into full-on headbangers.  ‘Pump Your Breaks’ had a cracking 80’s esque riff dictating matters, fitting considering the lead guitarist bears a passing resemblance to Slash.  The dark stage the band were stomping around in also helped establish the atmosphere, though the darkness of the light didn’t reflect the mood of lead singer Will Roan as he was endlessly chatty between songs, at one point paying tribute to the nights headliners and asking the fashionista female heavy crowd which ‘Virgin they liked best’ (Donald and Nick, it transpires).

‘Bayonets’ had a relentlessly boppable bassline, and a call to arms sing-a-long of ‘the kids are alright’ positioning the band somewhere between The Charlatans and Kasabian.  It’s a real baggy highlight, and will have festival audiences across the planet singing along come the summer.

The final song ‘The Narwhal’ continues the Kasabian comparison, with its ‘ah ah ah ah ah’ chorus bringing to mind a more sedate version of ‘Club Foot.’  It eventually descends into a haze of crashing drums and brain-swelling headbanging, with band members and audience alike all joining in. It’s a massive amount of fun, a storming end to the set and ensures that The Virgins have a lot to live up to when they prance onstage.

Unfortunately, the over-sexed triumvirate do not quite justify all the hype and hyperbole that’s been swirling around the press regarding them. Although the lead singer Donald is as engaging as he is fey ,strutting around the stage in a bowtie (no shirt), he can’t quite hide the fact that a lot of their stuff is, well, a bit boring.  Opener ‘Teen Lovers’ initially seemed a good omen, all eighties throwbacking and a frenzied reaction from the panting crowd

    ‘She’s Expensive’, entertaining with its tales of cocaine brunches and the highpoint was rapturously received, as were‘Rich Girls’ and ‘One Week Of Danger’ (a great tune).

Unfortunately, despite being generally entertaining, one couldn’t help but think there isn’t a lot of depth to them.  Which is fine; at the end of the day this is straight up pop music, and very different to bands like The Strokes who they, via the dreaded New York connection, have been compared to.  The biggest shout of the set came when Donald took his top off to prance around the stage (inciting a man behind me to proclaim he ‘just got wet’), and this added to the  already prevalent feeling that there was a somewhat vacuous air to it all.  Lead guitarist Wade did an embarrassing jumping axe-grind every time he riffed on his guitar, in a move stolen from the Stereotypical Guitar Pose Handbook.

 Finishing with a couple of so-so covers- of ‘Up The Junction’ and INXS’s ‘Devil Inside’- saw them embrace a much punkier direction.  I actually preferred these, but one can’t help but think they just ran out of songs and that, if they were to make an album like this they might lose a chunk of their core audience.

In short: Amazing Baby deserve more hype, The Virgins less.

Posted In Live Reviews, May 06 2009. Words - David