Face to Face is introduced as "a song about girlfriends, as pretty much all of our songs are" and grabs the attention with a rousing chorus, while an almost ska rhythm flavours High Times. Set closer Line the Stars Up is magnificent, driven by a pounding simplicity that compliments singer Chris Wilde’s heartfelt vocals, which at times echo Bowie’s dulcet tones. Wilde reveals that he has a sore throat and guitarist Andy has food poisoning, so his raspy voice is perhaps an accidental feature of a performance that we’re lucky to be seeing at all. This revelation comes just before fans’ favourite The Hex, a song title that, muses Wilde, "sums up affairs". The song’s hypnotic refrain "I keep losing my memory" is at first captivating but does just tiptoe into the realm of the tedious. Doloroso’s style is snappy and their demeanour is professional, but never do they descend into cheesy pout or posture; in fact, the look is integral to the whole of their live performance. Wafer-thin Wilde rocks at the microphone like a stick insect on a twig. A mastery of pop, then, is combined with menacing soundscapes and the result is a band so atmospheric that they’re practically gaseous. The stripped basslines of post-punk rumble under soaring guitars and the sublime, tender vocals veer between the intimate and the detached. This fusion of musical styles creates a unique and moving affair, lightening the musical dark with pop sensibility, but not whitewashing it. The sparse audience did add to the romance of tonight’s scene, but Doloroso’s dour charm is deserving of more attention.
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