The Diamond Noise / The Black Heart

With the Diamond Noise we're getting into boys noise in many guises. In front of a pretty packed upstairs room in Camden (which is full of an enviable number of nubile women) they run a gamut beginning with sexily monolithic guitar heaviness which sounds like rock hail descending from a QOTSA fork lightning power blues sky, 'Never Say Never Say Never' for example with its hardcore title and sound like a mincing Little Richard been stone tenderised. Then there's the singers sometime Jack White strangled rasp before things descend somewhat via cheesy pop hooks. Suggesting a fun but slightly dodgy teen wildlife night out with Josh Homme looking on disapprovingly. These too blatant moments suggest the legion of their female fans has turned their heads, the singer also spending a little too much time over emoting stage front when he should be behind a wall of sound.

Their sound falls into two camps, the heavy sound forged earlier shows they've a great grasp of the dynamics involved and this style suits them. And also a brief but brutal format - anything over two and a half minutes and things start to sound a little baggy. The two minutes of 'Yippee Yeah's' blues prancing and Glitter band drum splash being more than enough to satisfy.