Friday 09/11/07 The Cinematics @ Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh

Perhaps they can’t stand fisn n’chips and the labour government, perhaps there’s a huge overseas market for 80’s indie revivalists, or maybe they were just fed up of the weather, but for one reason or another The Cinematics have spent most of this year in America, leading to one puzzled fan actually thinking The Cinematics were American. Their persistent touring outside of the UK has finally come to a head, and they have returned for one quick show in their home country of Scotland before heading off on tour with new band mates, We Are Scientists.

The Cinematics are a group whose over reliance on effects pedals to create a hauntingly jagged guitar sound makes them easy to pigeon hole. It’s that same pensive dedication to gloomy melancholy that Editors and Interpol both mugged Joy Division for, and as ever it’s backed up with contemplative lyrical substance, delivered with a gripping, yet dejected style of singing. A blissful marriage between 80’s art house rock and post Coldplay musings provides an extremely palatable soft rock formula for indie aficionados, and fans of Editor’s first album, desperate to keep an element of non-mainstream indie-coolness to their record collection will no doubt salivate over this group.

These days gloomy indulgence and tortured soul meanderings maybe the forte of adolescent emo scensters, but The Cinematics have managed to reach the crest of melodramatic extremity, talking bitterly about a world where “substance is nothing and image is everything”. Lead singer Scott Rinning takes centre stage and occasionally steps to the front to yell stuff at the crowd without the aid of a mic, while the rest of the band remain fairly static. Bassist Adam Goeman moves with all the awkward grace of an animated Tim Burton character and the lanky figure of guitarist Ramsay Miller, looking more like a public school boy than anyone else in the venue, only occasionally ventures away from his designated spot.

‘Chase’ with its beautifully melodic chorus and far reaching vocals stops just short of being a little pop masterpiece thanks to an annoyingly dull bass line. Still, Goeman more than redeems himself in the angular and jagged ‘Break’, a great little retro indie song that seems strangely familiar, probably just because it sounds so much like The Cure. Infectious riffs and indie predictability is most confluent on the sensationally addictive ‘Maybe Someday’. It’s a track that reeks with dancefloor filling potential, and begs the question; why haven’t the group released this as a single? The crowd, who remained relatively unresponsive throughout the set, save for a few dedicated followers in the front row, finally gathered some enthusiasm for this cracking number.

Saving the best to last, the mandatory closure achieved by ‘Asleep At The Wheel’ presents the audience with a real monster of a record, fraught with heartfelt hooks and belting vocals, evoking that perfect sense of despair that the group manage to capture magnificently.

And then it’s all over. It seems like The Cinematics have been away for ages and when they do return we’re only treated to a meagre forty five minute set that does little more than wet our appetites for an altogether unsatisfying night. The untimely curfew of 10 O’Clock wasn’t even reached, and the early show goes a long way to explain why there are so many young faces in the crowd. Still, it’s a welcome chance to catch the group while you can, as early next year they’re back off around the world.