Live Review

Alice And The Majesty – Borderline, London

• 29th Feb 2008

The Borderline is a strange venue. It is fairly obviously steeped in a history; this is evident from the walls, plastered with memorabilia. It is ramshackle though, as if it wanted a lick a paint but no one could quite be bothered to do it. The sound is slightly unbalanced as these venues tend to be – it is much louder in some bassy enclaves of the venue, and thin at other points. But putting these quibbles aside, it remains a centrally located venue where the drinks aren’t too expensive and you can get close to the bands.

I’m here to review Envy & Other Sins, who’ve recently won a contract with A&M in the MobileAct Unsigned bands competition. It’s with a slight amount of trepidation that I turn up, hearing vague inklings that they sound like The Feeling and are a pop rock band with an artfully designed stage presence.

The first band pass me by – they are a journeyman outfit singing US-style folk with harmonies that don’t quite gel and songs that don’t really go anywhere apart from circling around the landmarks of the musical past.

Envy & Other Sins come on without much ado – the stage is decked out with a coat hook and a lamp, that the roadie amusingly then has to find a bulb for. There is precious little banter, just a set of tight and surprisingly edgy songs. They translate well into the live area – all four know their exact roles and the front man has an alluring voice at ends with his hirsute appearance; a cross between Suggs and Morrissey my friend says. I was erring towards Sean Slater from Eastenders, but girls tell me that this is no bad thing at all. ‘Highness’, the single goes down best of all, but it is the last song which is brilliant – ‘Shipwrecked’. Bands don’t usually end with ballads, and they were ending poorly until the song changed tempo and timbre, becoming urgent and calling the audience back to attention. It was a good, solid show and the last song I think promises some good material from the album.

The headliner, Alice and The Majesty, was in another league. With a Helena Bonham Carter messy hairdo and amazing eyes, she already has the sexy singer songwriter thing down. But once she started singing, previously unsure gig attendees were rapt; its a sound that completely transports you. It was sure and steady, changing notes and cadence at will. Backed by an impressive bassist and a guitarist that were occasionally allowed to venture into solos and complicated fretwork, this was an amazing performance from an amazing talent.