大象传媒

It's apt that Belfast's Girls Names should support influential post-punk stalwarts Gang of Four, and, in theory, it should make for a nice mix of the new with the old, the revivalists and the originators.

But as Girls Names open their set to a sparse, slowly building crowd mulling around the marquee, there's something not quite right about the evening. If anything it's a pity for Girls Names, fresh from being lauded as Rough Trade's album of the week for their debut Dead To Me, and whose blend of sparkling yet morose noise-pop is skilfully and wonderfully delivered, despite reverberating around a near-empty hall. Cathal Cully's deep vocals deliver a lightly gothic twinge on 'S茅ance on A Wet Afternoon' and 'Lawrence' against the throwaway, twee guitar riffs, and even older songs such as 'Graveyard' have a more ragged, fitting edge among all the new material.

Girls Names may have been accomplished and enjoyable, but the marquee is still slow to gather pace for headliners Gang Of Four. Since their re-emergence in the 1990's the original line-up has come and gone a few times, and unfortunately tonight sees them play Belfast with only two of the original members on the tail end of the release of "Content" from earlier this year.

From the start it lacks cohesion - 听and whilst there's no denying that singer Jon King arrives on with an abundance of energy matched by that of guitarist Andy Gill, but the newer additions to the band slink around in the background as if fulfilling some subordinate duty. The band simply play along to the crazed meanderings of King's flailing, wild-eyed dancing - grabbing the microphone stand to drone out the lyrics while he perpetuates his movements on stage as if possessed - something 听which mostly fails to connect with the bemused, seemingly sceptical crowd.

The songs are delivered with enthusiasm, but there's a good few songs off "Content" which fall flat, missing the buzzsaw guitar, hard-edged thrust of older material and when played live, don't have the same impact, lacking the same drive and verging on boring. 听And at times the band ventures into unkempt instrumental, soundscape territory, something which culminates in farce when a microwave is wheeled out on stage to be smashed by King with a baseball bat in some absurd attempt at performance art.

It's not all bad, though, and when they play 'Damaged Goods', 'Natural's Not In It' and a few others off 1979's Entertainment!, it does set off a spark among the audience. 听It's just a pity it rings hollow now, and the new line-up lacks the same poignant, incendiary politics with which Gang Of Four were once so virulently charged.

Aoife McKeown