Johnny Foreigner @ Cabaret Voltaire, 2 Jun

Like Los Campesinos!, Johnny Foreigner's fast'n'loose guitar-pop thrashing supports dual boy/girl vocals: talk-chanting and sweet lamenting, and reflective monologues about indie distractions like "the seaside, and ripped Distillers T-shirts, and girls who make their own badges". But tonight it all merges into one: every intro is the same, every melody is too narrow to form a hook, every song is pummeled into us by the same relentless pace and noise. It's their style, and that's fine, but for such an energetic band, they barely get the crowd moving an inch, because actually, we're a little bored. The final song has a spacey, rhythmless outro - it's a welcome deviation from the pattern, but then the singer rants another wistful monologue over the top. We've surely heard that bit before, but then you can only get so creative when you're rearranging fridge magnets into poetry. [Ally Brown]