The Longcut - Live

Charity is supposed to begin at home. As The Longcut kick off their UK tour in their hometown, only 150 or so canny folk can drag themselves out on a chilly Monday night. The fact that only a few yards away a huge, snaking queue of giddy teenagers await entry to an Enter Shikari gig doesn't help to dispel the notion that Manchester's musical nous is misfiring.

But The Longcut are troopers, and throw themselves into opening number 'Out At The Roots'. It's a standout track from their excellent new album 'Open Hearts' but seems strangely muted tonight. The recorded version is head-shrinkingly visceral - screaming guitars creating white heat and white light. But tonight's rendition seems somewhat caged, and less angry.

Live, The Longcut are a fascinating proposition; they have periods of devastating brilliance, and moments in which they seem to be missing a vital factor. This may be due to their set up; lead singer Stuart Ogilvie also plays drums, but doesn't do both at the same time. He's either up front and leaving drumming duties to a machine, or back behind the kit and not singing. The effect is slightly disjointed, and rarely allows the set-list to develop a head of steam. And that's a shame, because Lee Gale is a brilliant guitarist and Jon Fearon's meaty bass defiantly underpins their stark, metallic dance sound.

But when they're good, it's quite a spectacle. New track 'Evil Dance' surges and pulses, like a nasty electro-punk monster - think Front 242 with a sore head. Old tracks like 'Transition' and a rare airing of 'Idiot Check' remind you of the urgent force this trio could, and should, be.

New single 'Repeated' is a brooding love song, albeit delivered amid Gale's torrential riffs and eyefuls of strobe lights. After a 90-minute set, they encore with a chilled out (by The Longcut standards) 'The Last Ones Here' before taking their bow. It's a fitting finale for a band that are difficult to categorise, and despite critical acclaim, seem not to tick any of the boxes for this year's fads and fashions. Their only crime is a desire to develop dark sonic Northern landscapes - which Mancunians, in the past, have openly taken to their hearts. The Longcut deserve our love and attention - if we lose them it's a long walk to the back of that Enter Shikari line.

Words by John Freeman