Don’t be fooled by the flamboyant appearance of Palomino Party’s frontman Linford Hydes.
With his tight leather pants, see through woman’s blouse, slum mum earrings and flopping fringe he may look every inch a decadent update of Soft Cell singer Marc Almond. But while this Cardiff six-piece definitely trade on the unabashed heart-on-sleeve romanticism of the early 80s, musically they belong to that era just before punk and new wave gave way to smart suits and icy synthpop.
Rather, crammed onto the Monarch’s modest stage, they have more to do with the choppy guitar angst of Adam And The Ants’ seminal debut Dirk Wears White Sox than Human League or Heaven 17. Even if The Black Russian, which they play towards the end of a well received mid-evening session, neatly answers the rarely asked question: “What would The Stooges have been like with Boy George in Iggy Pop’s place?!”
There’s more than a touch of Morrissey in the way Hydes cavorts across the stage too, not to mention echoes of the Smiths frontman’s solo track Mexico in their own, more reflective ‘Deseo’. But where the Moz toyed with and teased the taboo subjects of identity and sexuality, the Palomino Party way is much more balls out, via song titles like Bad Boys and Faggot In The Suburbs – which has to be the best song title we’ve heard for many a year.
It’s a curious mix of influences, but recently enlarged to encompass a stripped-to-the-waist keyboard player and second guitarist, they succeed in making it their own. It’s not just the bravado that appeals though, but the way they dispatch all the sonic fury with an effortless flair that’s a joy to behold, and as their closing track (Run Palomino) proves beyond doubt, they’re also capable of penning songs that stick in the brain like chewing gum on a hot pavement.
The Party has only just begun!
