White Rose Movement

All style and no substance? You tend to hesitate when a young band appear before you - four boys and token girl on keyboards - looking sharp, stunning and, in the case of the peroxide blondes, blinding. It's just a little passé.
But in fact there’s an air of great expectation here tonight. A year ago White Rose Movement graced this very stage as a support act and now they’re back to headline for a gathering of rabid, though slightly glamorous fans who seem to have been champing at the bit for this rescheduled date.
And the wait proves its worth as the band eventually show they sound as good as they look. What unfolds is quite the live re-working of a 'best bits' 80's mix tape allowing the new-ish romantics to craftily spike a revived genre with modernity. And it is a real sonic shake-up. Euphoric climaxes are clouded by sinister tendencies, while striking lead vocals, drawing echoes of Falco, are stretched over jagged-edged rhythms.
Courting a Kraftwerk style in red shirt and slick, black hair, frontman Finn Vine cuts a very curious figure. With a little Ian Curtis-vulnerability, awkward manner and resistance, he still reaches out to the crowd, at one point grabbing a feather boa to suitably dress up blonde bassist Owen Dyke. Finn’s presence also accentuates the fact WRM's dark shadows and electronic highlights find them sitting pretty between Joy Division and New Order, which is not a bad place to be, much like tonight's gig.
From their appealing repertoire of nostalgic nuances, it’s stand-out singles 'Love Is A Number' and 'Girls In The Back' that really elevate the club-friendly, Soulwax-laced vibe of the set and during the encore the enveloping build finally peaks so everyone can literally 'buzz' off home. Far from fading to grey, the band shone a brilliant white in the end.