Tonight was the third night in Young Heretic’s February Friday residency at the Royal Derby hotel. After releasing a haunting pop gem of an ep, The Dreamers, I was looking forward to seeing the songs performed in the flesh.

Opening the night was the rather new trio, Death Valley Band and their short, sharp and somewhat rattly punk songs. It was exhilarating to watch this threesome play no bullshit songs that aggressively cut straight to the bone. The lead vocals travelled from calm and composed to a callous cry in seconds, adding to the manic and abrasive nature of their tunes. They were an exciting band to watch, the kind to keep you on your toes.  

Filling in the middle spot was Love At This Volume, with unexciting rock and roll songs. I tried my hardest to be entertained, but they played a set full of nothing-filled rock and roll songs. Sounding like a corny ska band minus the brass, they paled in comparison to the act before. Despite being competent musicians, there just wasn’t anything all that intriguing about this band.

Then of course was Young Heretics; just the two main star-crossed players involved taking to the small stage, Kitty Hart and Matthew Wright. Though often found flanked by a band, it was just the pair of them tonight armed with 6 electric strings, a keyboard and laptop. Both Wright's and Hart's vocals sounded amazing, Hart’s in particular sounded strong and bold over the top of the laptops dirty and distorted looping sounds, though the performance as a whole was missing something to really set it alight. While missing the extra band members may have contributed to this, there was something in there set that lacked the excitement I had expected. It was intimidating watching Hart move around the stage like a broken toy soldier, pointing an accusing finger at the audience as she sang, though unfortunately the brutality of her glare didn’t match the music which was missing the brutality I had wished for. I know these guys really do have something; I’m just waiting for them to really prove it to me.

Photo Source: http://youngheretics.blogspot.com/2009/12/working-workers-club.html