Mr Hudson and the Library @ Cabaret Voltaire

Having a dodgy name, as giants from The Who to U2 have proven, need not be a barrier to success. However, Mr Hudson and the Library's poor choice of moniker is matched at Cabaret Voltaire by some dreadful lapses of taste on the musical front. It all starts promisingly enough. Cutting a cocksure dash in his trilby and zoot-suit, Ben Hudson leads his well-drilled band of London fashionistas through a breezy couple of numbers which successfully meld Two Tone vocal stylings and classic pop sensibilities to crisp R&B tinged beats. Things start to go downhill fairly rapidly, however, and a mid-set nadir is reached during an interminable jazz-funk workout that brings to mind horrible visions of being stuck in a mid-eighties wine bar. To their credit, the band pull themselves out of the fire with a spirited closing spurt - but much more quality control will be needed for the public to flock to this particular Library. [Duncan Forgan]