Now everybody knows The Front came into being as the result of an absinthe-fuelled brawl between a band of gypsies, travelling troubadours and an interior designer from the 70s, so it should come as no surprise that Brillig; purveyors of ‘murder ballads, sea shanties and moody folk tales’ chose to stop by the Lyneham bar last Tuesday night as part of their January mini-tour. 


Opening the night was the charming Leigh Stardust – no relation to Ziggy, aside from vaguely 70s-inspired hair and a dash of electro-pop keyboards. Leigh’s deceptively sweet, very powerful voice moved seamlessly between upbeat and catchy, if somewhat familiar, indie-folk-pop tunes and more stripped-back, vocally driven pieces. In between, Ms Stardust entertained the audience with cute, quirky ramblings about anything and everything, and this friendly and unpretentious storytelling mood carried over into her witty and incisive lyrics. A particular favourite of mine was “You’re the reason I get drunk,” a pick that may just be more revealing than a lady reviewer should allow.

After just enough time to grab a third gin and tonic, Brillig took to the stage in a flurry of frilled petticoats, shirt tails and top hats. The trio poured all they had into their performance, which consisted mainly of tracks from their debut LP, The Red Coats. Vocalist Elizabeth Reid’s haunting voice pierced the warm, still night and the group’s combination of bass, accordion, banjo and even harmonica helped weave the darkly romantic tales of ghosts, murder and absinthe that the band have become so well-known for.


Hailing from South Australia by way of the steppes of Eastern Europe and the saloons of the old west, Brillig have been compared to everyone from Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen to The Cure and Nick Cave. These powerful influences were certainly there for anybody who cared to pick them out, but it is Brillig’s own unique and unaffected sound that has garnered them so many fans around the world. It was that inimitable style that kept The Front spellbound last Tuesday night.

Towards the end of the evening, the colourful Leigh Stardust jumped up and joined the darkly brooding Brillig in a Cave/Minogue-like combination that shouldn’t have worked, but was the highlight of the evening. The clash and combination of styles underpinned by excellent musical talent summed up the entire evening and it was this – not the third gin – that had me dancing for the rest of the night.