Charlottefield How Long Are You Staying

Charlottefield are, I suspect, more truly represented live than on record. From a four-piece comprising Thomas House (vox/guitar), Ashley Marlowe (drums), Chris Butler (bass) and Adam Hansford (another guitar), this 30-minute excursion captures a band who play loud and shout louder. House possesses a ballsy, tearing voice, ably supported by his committed and forthright pals, that suggests the lovechild of Mark E. Smith and Gary Oldman's character Stansfield in Leon (You get the picture: misanthropic. Aggressive. Period.). There's also a strong punk/post-punk ethos to their music and approach; they play gigs in schools and non-venues, and lyrically what can be deciphered is simple, emotional social critique. Syncopation, stuttering and spikiness dominate the tracks, all signs of the hardcore and garage influences bubbling underneath. Yet there's also a very British feel, more XTC or Gang of Four than Sonic Youth.

Despite claims of musical influences from classical artists such as Erik Satie (a popular name-check these days, it seems), and some clever arrangements and progressions, Charlottefield are a tough, straightforward and uncomplicated outfit. They set their marker out on Nine Tails, with its At The Drive-In-style funk bass and hellfire vocals. Again sounds like it was recorded down a well but is still strikingly noisy, and Paper Dart is perhaps where their technical complexity most stretches its legs. I started to think that if the Mars Volta had all their kit and noise boxes stolen, it would sound something like this.

So, confident, truculent and uncompromising, unlikely to change anyone's musical agenda, but committed and brutal enough to be worth checking out.