Noisettes

14th November 2012, HMV Ritz

9/10

Noisettes have a strange history, jumping into some people’s consciousness with their punky first record, What’s the Time, Mr Wolf? back in 2007.  But then they went pop and ‘Don’t Upset the Rhythm’ was picked up for a car advert and they exploded, with their second LP Wild Young Hearts peaking at number 2 in the charts.  Their new record Contact debuted at 30, which would inevitably have been a disappointment to the band who also replaced their drummer and founding member, Jamie, Morrison, in between the two releases. However, they didn’t let it show in their performance, playing every song with seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm.

Singer Shingai Shoniwa took to the stage in a very small red and gold playsuit with a wire hoop skirt round her, launching straight into ‘I Want U Back’. The songs from Contact were received well but that was nothing compared to the roars that accompanied the beginnings of the big singles from their second record.  ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’ was an unsurprising high point with the crowd singing along with every word and the opening bars ‘Never Forget You’ prompted people to start singing along before Shingai herself.

The most wonderful aspect of the evening was the fact that they put on such a show.  There were costume changes, covers, and Shoniwa even ended up walking along the edge of the sound desk for the first song of the encore, ‘Atticus’, a quieter moment before ‘Wild Young Hearts’ sent the crowd wild again.  Finding herself with some extra time she called the wonderful support acts, Marques Toliver and Josephine, onto the stage for an amazing cover of Earth Wind and Fire’s ‘Fantasy’.  Noisettes proved themselves to be a sensational live act at this show and I only hope their next record will allow them to be more than a one-album-wonder.