So whatever the massed ranks of The Polyphonic Spree were, they weren鈥檛 a democratic unit but the musical plaything of faux cult-leader and possible musical autocrat, Tim DeLaughter. So far, so bad. But, maybe these reservations could be forgotten and forgiven in the context of a live performance, which is what found me at the Academy on a steamy Tuesday night. There鈥檚 no doubt that the Spree are an impressive spectacle. Come on, just how often does the average indie audience ever see 25 people on stage? Not surprisingly, the noise they created was pretty awe-inspiring, and bludgeoned the majority audience into gurning Spree cultists ready to copy every inane thing Tim DeLaughter did on stage. Unfortunately, the tunes were also blanketed in a bombastic fug resulting in a distinct lack of light and shade. Blink and you鈥檇 almost think you were hearing a very loud mad amalgam of ELO, the Pixies and The Langley Schools Music Project. However, even I couldn鈥檛 deny what a thrilling stage show it was. But again I come back to the implications of my opening remarks. What does it all mean? A post-modern entertainment? A big shallow noise? A musical in-joke? Musical brain-washing? Looking at the uplifted Academy audience, no-one seemed to know or care as they had such a great time. Me? Yep, I sort of liked The Polyphonic Spree but won鈥檛 be joining the cult just yet. | 
