Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly @ Pull Tiger Tail and the Dykeenies

Tonight's show sees three hotly tipped bands fight loosing battles against the Carling Academy's sound system. The Dykeenies (2/5) have built a strong local following for their competent take on jerky new wave pop and have excelled in smaller venues, yet their songs rarely emerge from the muddy PA, making them sound like an extended drum solo against a drone. Pull Tiger Tail (3/5) race about the stage as they strive to haul their tunes away from the jaws of a tinny rattle, and even Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly's (2/5) crafted songs are lost beneath what sounds like the roar of an aeroplane. That the audience respond so enthusiastically is a tribute to their imagination.

However, Pull Tiger Tail emerge from the sludge victorious: bassist Davo makes a real effort to cover every inch of the stage while the Dykeenies' vocalist seems intimated by the crowd and hides behind his keyboards. Both bands build on powerful drumming, but it is Pull Tiger Tail's funkier beats that break up the wretched noise, and their use of keyboards rounds out their tunes. GCWCF are merely dull - even the sparse instrumentation is overpowering.

Of course, none of the three should be held accountable for the poor quality of their sets and they all continue to mark out their potential. Pull Tiger Tail demonstrated their finesse only four days earlier at the Barfly, but are unable to overcome a venue which, tonight, seems to have little concern for sound quality. [Margaret Kirk]