THE music

Tonight the band are back, with their singer shorn like a rat and a batch of songs plucked from the forthcoming Orbital-produced record. No times they are a-wasted, and they immediately send people’s brains into an orgasmic malfunction with ‘Take The Long Road And Walk It’. Rob Harvey slides across the stage doing Ti Chi moves as if he’s manipulating an invisible parallel universe, while his band steam through ‘Welcome To The North’ like men who drink petrol. The crowd are simply ignited: there’s not one person modestly tapping their foot. And here’s why: The Music are like the musical equivalents of He Man and the Masters of the Universe. They play well, yes, but they mean well too - without being pussies (that last bit is very important if you’re He Man). The only glitch tonight is the inevitable chin stroking that accompanies new material. From what we can make out, ‘Drugs’ is very badly titled, but sounds like Led Zep Vs Justice, so we forgive it. The other new ones are definitely movers - but it’s too early to tell if they’re shakers.