Hercules and Love Affair, Soho Revue Bar, London

Reviewed
Sunday 08 June 2008 00:00 BST
Comments

Wow, Antony Hegarty's looking foxy these days. That's your first thought when you see Hercules and Love Affair perform "Blind", their stormer of a single which featured the Johnsons leader's larynx. Then it dawns on you that the line-up touring the UK doesn't feature the man whose presence gave these New Yorkers such a high profile. The weird thing is, it doesn't even matter.

Under the mirror balls and chandeliers of a strip joint, Hercules and Love Affair – a polysexual electro-dance project – put on a non-stop erotic cabaret of their own. Led by the femme/dyke duo of Nomi and Kim Ann Foxman, and captained behind a keyboard by Andy Butler, seven of H&LA's eight members wear tops bearing the word "banjee" (a Nuyorican slang term for a young ethnic male who has sex with men, but dresses in macho fashion), which gives you an idea of where they're coming from.

Remarkably, for a studio project, they sound even better live: trombones and trumpets jostling with synth-bleeps like bubbles percolating through liquid. Disco is officially back, and if Hercules and Love Affair have anything to do with it, it's gonna be glorious.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in