Amusement Parks On Fire @ Cabaret Voltaire, 6 May

Big is back, cry Amusement Parks on Fire, as if it was in doubt. Following the snowball of recent shoegaze throwbacks, the Nottingham quintet make a proud and sweaty attempt at modernising the sound, their every note buried beneath swaying sheets of distortion, ever epic and never varying. These slabs of hollowed out tunes use a pedal pondering sound like a paintbrush to blur boundaries between Brit-pop and alarmingly radio-light Euro rock, as breathy, indistinct vocals pour into a misty room. The absence of any development or variation is potent, with not a single song allowed to break free from the sound that they have so carefully sculpted, and leaves one wondering what all that thunderous fuss was all about. As they hide behind the physical force of volume, Amusement Parks certainly feel powerful, but as the last decibel rings out, there is a quite unmistakable feeling of dissatisfaction.