Bullets over broadway

The Hollowtip Hearts sound like they should be some NY Dolls-aping glam rock combo. Actually they share the Yo La Tengoish spectrum as their antecedent Les Allumettes. They were sounding pretty sharp for the small crowd that turned up for their opening slot at The Deatils-Malcolm Bauld gig.

The whole lot.



Krystal Diamond's bass playing was particularly good.



Tina B is an Allumettes alum.



Bam Bam drums!



Kitty No sings!



Singalong action!



Tambourining action!



Krystal sings!



More No.



Dual tambourine action! "Don't try this at home."



The other side of the whole lot!



They're releasing their debut CD at The Bytown Tavern (not the Dominion, as I said earlier) with The Weatherman and Shanker and Romps on May 31.

• Show reminder: Cancer Bats play Mavericks with Black Lungs, A Textbook Tragedy, Clepto and Knives For Kids. DOA celebrate their 30th anniversary at the Dominion. Dead and Divine, Alex R. Newman and 27 York play Zaphod's. Brendan Flynn and The Terrible Liars perform at Cafe DeKcuf with Gianna Lauren. Lucky Ron and Steve Stacey and the Stumpsplitters bring the country to Elmdale House Tavern. The Watters Brothers Rebellion rock The Rainbow.

Heart to heart

I didn't think The Details, former Frenetic turned folk-rocker Malcolm Bauld or Allumettes offshoot Hollowtip Hearts would rake in a big audience at Babylon, particularly on a cool Tuesday evening, and I was proved sadly correct. Pity, for the assembled bands all turned in sharp performances of various flavours. First local quartet Hollowtip Hearts - fresh off a gig at The Dominion the previous Saturday with Four'n'Giv'r - wowed the crowd with songs about lasers and moustaches, coordinated tambourining. The main singer in this combo is Christina, formerly of Les Allumettes, but everyone chips in ....


The Hollowtip Hearts - Stina B, Krystal Diamond - Babylon April 29, 2008

They were followed by Malcolm Bauld, who was in excellent form. He's been on the road for a month so he's well-practiced but hasn't yet gotten to the point where he feels his vocal cords have been sandpapered.


Malcolm Bauld, Babylon, April 29, 2008

He was joined on stage for his closing two songs by the rhythm section of The Details, who sound a bit like Sloan, Adorable, and Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, but a bit shinier and not as good - no slam on them, since no one's as good as Ted. They've got a taste for the anthemic in some of their tunes (most notably, err, National Anthem) and I could imagine them becoming much bigger.



It all hit the spot.

• Show reminder: Will Currie and The Country French and Greggy B and The Flats play Zaphod's.