FOE

A self-proclaimed hybrid of PJ Harvey, Peaches and Kurt Cobain I was unsure of what to expect of FOE, the 22 year old from Hampshire with a penchant for coloured wigs and weirdness.

I have no idea who thought to compare her to the goddess that is Polly, but personally I saw less ethereal wonderment, and more sludgy grunge rock. Not that sludgy grunge rock is a bad thing by any means.

Despite feeling slightly like I’m at the end of term disco and the sixth formers are debuting their new band, FOE put on a pretty decent show. It’s always empowering to see a lady fronting an otherwise male line-up, and as far as leading ladies go, Hannah Clark definitely has the potential to be something. I’m not sure what that something is yet, and I don’t think she quite knows either.

It’s a short set, and takes until about midway through for Clark to loosen up a bit. She appears fairly shy at first, mumbling about it ‘not being a good idea to have an all you can eat Chinese buffet right before you come on stage’. By the time she reaches the fourth song, Janey Lou, she has transformed from perhaps deliberate coyness into a confident, lost in the moment rocker.

Although sometimes I feel a tad confused as to what sound exactly FOE are trying to produce. The guitars sound far too colliding and crashy and they're combined with strange electronic Back to the Future-esque effects at the beginning of most numbers. Clark is also drowned out a fair bit by her band members and the lyrics often go unheard.

Thankfully there is the occasional moment when Clark’s fresh sounding voice breaks through, it's as if she's been underwater and is only now screaming for our attention.

There is not a coloured wig to be seen, but Clark really doesn't need to hide behind coloured synthetic hair any longer. Some fine tuning, maybe tell the backing boys to quieten down a bit and she’ll soon be riding on the wheels of glorious grunge.