LIVE REVIEW: BLACK VIIOLET, THE CONTINENTAL LOVERS, GLITTER KICK – The Lexington, Islington, 18/7/26

So, unbelievably, I’m pretty sure this was my first time at the Lexington. As usual, since I was coming from a fair way away, I arrived early and had a swift drink before going in. There was time for a catch up with promoter Mannie, who was putting on the 164^th Shake Some Acton gig with another eclectic selection of acts. Turned out Mannie and I are almost exactly the same age, which must contribute a little to our liking almost exactly the same kind of music..

The evening kicked off with a “paired down” Glitter Kick, which actually meant we had a duo: singer Roxi, sporting possibly the biggest bow on her head that it is possible for a human to wear, together with Gregory Paco Radcliffe and his guitar, looking like he was up for a mean gunslinger role in a spaghetti western, cranking up his riffs to more than make up for the absence of the rest of the band. These played their way through a really upbeat set of thumping tunes; sort of a blend of Primal Scream and The Ting Tings, but with added bite.

Just time to catch my breath, and the next band arrived onstage. The Continental Lovers look like they share a lot of genes with the New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks; there were a lot of revved up glam-punk badass tunes delivered at a relentless breakneck speed that made you stand right up and take notice. They sung about women (“my baby got paraffin lips”), screwing your life up, bad places and all of those things together, and they pulled it off with aplomb.. catch them if you can.

So to the last act of the evening, and a distinct change of ambience. Black Viiolet (not Violet) itself marks a radical departure from singer Nicole Laurenne’s other musical offering, as the frontwoman in The Darts, Seattle’s premier garage rock protagonists. An altogether more laid back soiree unfolded, with the excellent band delivering a selection of dark relationship-oriented numbers (“I have a lot of ex-husbands”), described in the flyer as neo-soul infused with jazz. Nicole deftly switches between vocals and keyboards, ably complemented by her brass duo. At any moment I expected James Bond (possibly one of Nicole’s ex-husbands I imagine) to stroll onto the stage, Martini in hand. Really, really cool, I absolutely loved it.