Veronica Falls / Fear of Men / Sacred Paws @ CCA, 26 February

Despite a pre-8pm start time, there’s an impressive crowd present as Sacred Paws open the night; the Glasgow/London duo’s capriciously rough-edged take on afrobeat has earned them a loyal following here. Like all the best pairings, they make the self-imposed limitations of their sound work to their advantage: with relatively little variation in texture and tone, space is created for a range of rhythmic adaptations below the spidery guitar hooks and overlapping vocal shouts. 

The familiar twin-guitar melodic indie of Brighton’s Fear of Men feels pedestrian by contrast; while they share some C86-style sonic ancestry with Veronica Falls, Fear of Men’s sound lacks the headliners’ mesmerising intensity. It’s saved from mediocrity, however, by plenty of ethereal, Sundays-esque jangly guitars, and some subtly layered vocal melodies.

Veronica Falls’ recently-released second LP Waiting for Something to Happen has cemented their position as one of the most compelling guitar-pop outfits around. Lustrously catchy new songs like Teenage and Buried Alive, while marking a slight shift away from the “horror rock” (as frontwoman Roxanne Clifford has it) of their debut, retain its reverb-soaked power. The propulsive force of Patrick Doyle’s drumming, combined with walls of guitar haze and lead melodies that climb seductively in and out of the mix, is the key to that distinctive weight. It’s assisted by the clarity of Veronica Falls’ sound tonight, which perfectly showcases the warm, atmospheric vocal combinations of Clifford and James Hoare. The elements may be familiar, but when they’re blended this well, the results are arresting.