FUN seems to have lost out among the.patch charts, make-up, sequencers and silly hair-dos of today's chartbusting synth gods. Serious looks, meaningful poses and careful-with-my-eyeliner, Eugene, are the order of the day.
How refreshing, then, to find an outfit who lookgood, use simple but effective synth layers and exciting, powerful synth solos, mix these with the strong, meaty beat of a real drum kit, dress the sound with two squawky girl vocalists, and then throw in zany humour and crass theatrics to top it off.
In short, The Three Laws come over like Depeche and the League meeting Splodge and a bottle of tabs. The result is wonderful.
Whether the band will be able to lift itself out of the drudgery of support work (like this gig - a support to old friends Inner City Unit), whether they can convince a major to sign 'em and do the hype job, and whether they can stay together long enough for the fame and fortune they so richly deserve, only time, money and a lot of luck will tell.
The next few months will be crucial for The Three Laws. They've got a strong image (albeit a rip off from many outfits), they've got sex appeal (the two girls are destined to become heart throb material for the mentally insane), and they've got some terrific material ("As Days Go By", "Space Cadet" and "Sermon On The Mount"), even if the puerile lyrics let'em down.
And then comes the madness. The girls pick up space pistols, paper darts fly out from the stage, lead keyboardist Psteve goes mental, the girls leave the stage and join the crowd, and we're into the encore - a hectic, looney version of "Da Do Ron Ron" - totally tasteless and idiotic.
The Three Laws: fun, frolics and a future(?). Go see 'em.
PAUL STRANGE - Melody Maker
