Elliot Minor

You could forgive me for being slightly cynical as I arrived at the London HMV Forum to see Elliot Minor on their second album tour, 'Solaris'. Not only was the queuing so dysfunctional that the support acts had begun before the crowds were in, but the noise that could be heard from outside was nothing short of painful.

The audience stood motionless whilst the likes of FranKo and Me vs. Hero tried, and failed, to generate some enthusiasm. Such was their amateurism that the lead singer of the first act managed to drop his microphone into the audience, and the front man of the latter ordered a 'peace wall', in which no-one participated. The crowd scattered and drifted towards the bar but managed to rapidly squeeze themselves into rows as Elliot Minor took the stage.

Lights dimmed, the smoke machine flared and the fans cheered as lead singer Alex Davies and guitarist Ed Minton produced some much needed audience interaction. Such was his professionalism and charm that the atmosphere changed rapidly. Elliot Minor’s performance was transformed by their newly created 'musical library'. The setlist flowed easily and smoothly from one track into the next as songs from both their first and second album were played.

It is clear, however, that despite the return to some of their old material, Elliot Minor’s musical style has evolved. Gone are the commercially polished, pop-rock tunes. Instead we see a more classical, rawer sound from tracks like 'The Dancer' and 'Shiver' which had the audience swaying and singing along. Although this has, as lead singer Alex admits, turned away many of their old fans, it has allowed the band to be more natural. Whilst this may be a worry for the future, the band definitely has nothing to worry about for the time being.

All in all, a fantastic show by Elliot Minor – the harmonies hit the right note, the guitar solos wowed young and old and I am grudgingly left retracting my scepticism and replacing it with 4 stars.