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A Horrors-esque keyboardist, a Finnish guitarist, a double bassist, a drummer in suspenders and a gorgeous front girl complete the Soho Dolls. They landed in Glasgow halfway through their British tour promoting their long-player ‘Ribbed Music for the Numb Generation’, filling the tightly packed venue with electro, sleazy synth, scratchy guitar and disco... sometimes all at once.
Their performance immediately oozes sex, burlesque and allurement; dressed in black, braces, big hair and suspenders, and that’s just the boys. Front woman Maya, or Maya Von Doll as she is more fetchingly known, is amazing to look at, resembling gothic, punk glamour mixed with skinny heroin chic. She may have a voice that borders similarities with Kylie Minouge, but don’t let that put you off - the songs are upbeat and catchy, filled with electro lust, guitar fuzz and trash pop.
Their provocative performance is packed with circus sleaze and cabaret. The lyrics are not the most inspiring or innovative, but such simplicity helps to keep their tunes of drugs, paranoia, sex and violence sounding like clean fun as opposed to seedy. And what they lack in libretto, they make up for in glamour and glitz. Best track tonight? ‘Prince Harry’, which seeps hypnotic robotic beats and quirky electro, and is a long standing favourite with any punter. ‘Trash the Rental’ is a fun depiction of a joy ride through London, with crashing guitars and haunting, breathy vocals, while ‘I’m Not Cool’ is a short but sweet, simplistic track.
Musically they are nothing to break the electro retro mould, but what they do, they do well. Soho Dolls don’t make you want to throw off your heels and leathers, but they do make you wish you were wearing some. It’s not style over substance, but simply digitally, sexually charged music. Commercially, to use a cliche, there's something there to please everybody, and with the producers of bands such as Depeche Mode, The Cure and Babyshambles behind them, success shouldn't allude them. A gothic fairytale in one act.
