The Acute @ Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh

I’d been intrigued by three-piece The Acute ever since they managed to plaster the entire T in the Park festival site with posters for their Unsigned Tent performance in 2006, and my interest was piqued by the sight of waifish singer Stuart as he took to the stage wearing black glitter obscuring half his face and one of those not-cardigans that just cover his arms. He is clearly a consummate showman, alternately baiting and saluting the audience, channelling both Matt Bellamy and Stardust-era David Bowie. Such attention-grabbing extends to the music, as howls of feedback greet us, dished up with choppy and, yes, acute rhythms thrashed out with venom and purpose.An intense twenty-five minutes later, a bass guitar is thrown across the stage and we are left with merely a wall of noise to remind us of their presence. And, yet’.. although I felt the rush of something new and exciting, I couldn’t escape the feeling of repetitiveness even in such a short set, leaving me with the lingering suspicion that there was more style than substance on display. Still, given their obviously already considerable following, we’ll no doubt be hearing far more about The Acute, and soon.

Support came from Last Great Wilderness, who produced thick, satisfying slabs of noise that were also prone to take flight and soar into unexpected directions. Apparently it’s their Last Gig as Last Great Wilderness, before they morph into Annie Christian (as in the Prince song). Second support Cry Over Billionaires weren’t afraid to swap tempos or scream into the microphone as they alternated between bittersweet love songs and waves of anguished noise.

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