The Beautiful Girls @ Cabaret Voltaire

Sounding a little bit too much like Ben Harper is one of the Beautiful Girls' main problems, and the other is that they aren't really girls – just three handsome Australians. The chilled out tunes they produce are lovely to listen to, washing over you like afternoon sunlight, and there are always highlights of each gig such as the timeless Periscopes, but for too much of the time it feels like they are trying to imitate other more successful artists instead of breaking out into their own sound. This is disappointing since they obviously have the talent, as displayed through their musical proficiency, and those aforementioned rare moments of brilliance. Compared to a few years ago, tonight they didn't sound at all different, perhaps just more relaxed, like they'd accepted their musical lot and were happy with it. Or maybe it was just an off night, but I for one had expected much more. (Xavier Toby)