WARM JETS
Edinburgh
La Belle Angele
11th March 1998

It's been a long time since we've had a group that are as fine to look at as they are to listen to, but Warm Jets are they. A noticeable surge of eligible young females strut to the front when young, free and (newly) single frontman Louis Jones takes his place on stage, but those of us with testosterone are amply catered for too with Japanese bass-player Aki and her razor-blade cheekbones, and the keyboard player who looks like a cross between Justine from Elastica and Natalie Imbruglia.

Image-wise, the band are sorted then - so what about the noise they make? Almost as good. Staring out into the middle distance (or the future that they reference in their lyrics), The Warm Jets produce a swelling and deliciously New Wave retro sound, encapsulating such influences as Bowie, Kraftwerk, Wire and Blondie. Playing in front of a back-projection showing old 50s cine footage, the band capture that retro-future vision of the 50s (The Warm Jetsons?) and marry it with a Radiohead-like pre-millenial tension. On songs like "Meteorites" and "Autopia", both standouts tonight, they fix their gaze on some dayglo tomorrow filled with lava lamps and loneliness. So whilst their sound may not be the most original ever, their outlook certainly is.

The whole of "Future Signs" gets an airing, and as on record, the singles stand out like shiny golden nuggets. "Hurricane" and "Move Away" see the Jets locking into place and launching for the stars. Although the keyboard often gets lost in the mix, the overall sound is tremendous, and soon the whole venue is orbiting around the Warm Jets' home planet.

"Never Never" remains their finest moment (although "Hurricane" and "Future Signs" come close) and tonight it soars, particularly when Aki starts jumping up and down and the sound swells into a sum greater than its parts; a mighty spacecraft speeding through the galaxy with a good-looking and effortlessly cool crew. Cosmic.

     


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