Radiohead were illuminated tonight, as the lighthouse for modern indie crews out there today. The dreamy almost hypnotic guitars of Fraction complemented by soaring vocals that filled the room and appreciative minds with longing tales of existence, was best demonstrated in the tingling ‘This Time’ and built upon further in the ironic ‘Out Of Tune’. An enthralling commencement to an evening of low key and captivating indie was delivered with charming grace from a growing outfit. These guys will continue to slowly seep into the minds of music lovers everywhere with their calming, yet passion fuelled offerings.

The bracing Icelandic quintet of Leaves were in the zone tonight, as they concentrated on showcasing tracks from their respected debut album ‘Breathe’, but also  gave us a prolonged peak into their current mindset and new direction encapsulated in 2nd album 'The Angela Test' . The dexterously talented front man Arnar Gudjonsson provided the wavy keyboard accompaniment that pushed along new tracks, such as the mind meltingly melodious; ‘Shakma’ which seems to have benefited from the band’s major shake up that occurred in 2003. The guys used their mastery to cast a dark and eerie feel upon a buzzing venue by way of ‘The Spell’. 'Angela Test followed' later and was given a kicking vibrant feel by way of Noi Steinn Einarrsson percussion element.

A soothing and soaring jam spiked old favourite ‘Breathe’ towards the end illuminated the fact that Leaves now have a new lease of life, plus have the confidence to experiment with their old, as well as their new material. The tightness of the band never loosened once; they barely looked at each other all evening. However, they seemed to have that telepathic understanding not witnessed since Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen once shared a football pitch together.

www.leaves.tv

www.alterkicks.co.uk

David Adair