After a long wait with a couple of run-of-the-mill bands playing their sets behind schedule, (both capturing the audience with a few catchy tunes), Heartstring finally made it to the stage. Heartstring had been bumped from the headline slot by a more established band, but it is credit to them, (or to the last buses and trains…), that the audience was largest when they played.

Although opening with a wall of sound, (Liverpool venues seem always to struggle with their sound levels for unsigned bands…), Heartstring played rousing renditions of Lost and I Want and actually the loud volume powered them along. They stood out for a start by having the only female vocalist of the night, but their alternative musical sound is their main draw. Whilst comprising the standard set of instruments – electric guitar, bass and drums – their diverse musical influences comes through in their music to set apart their sound from that of the other bands playing that night.

Although often met with a similar reaction as one would receive when saying hello to a stranger on the tube, Alicia’s rapport with the audience is lively. She successfully inspired the now obligatory audience can-can in Lost – although more conservative members of the audience like myself did not partake, my excuse being I was taking photos at the time.

Solace was understandably a little shorter live than the recorded version I am more familiar with, (I think). I recommend you seek the recorded version to hear the extended end that shows of Alicia’s impressive vocals in the upper range. It can be heard here. I wasn’t so keen on Sacrifice the Western Life, a song inspired by drummer Alexander’s trip to Africa. From the title, I was expecting a Wild West sound…

Next up was Breaking Away, arguably the stand out song from Heartstring’s latest crop. There’s a more mature tone in the vocals and the music sounds more assured. Whilst it’s a slower number, none of the power is lost in the live performance of this song. The full recorded demo version can be heard in the middle of the podcast of Show 3.14 of The Matthew Rimmer Show.

I’ve seen the crowd-pleaser Frozen Lake performed better. It’s perhaps a casualty of having been passed down as Heartstring’s line-up has changed a few times over the years, the song dating back to their days as Selador. It has lost some of its original energy through reinvention and inheritance. That said, some fine-tuning could reclaim its strength as it still remains an audience favourite.

The final track Fire to Kill has not stuck in my memory to the time of writing this review. It being another newer track, I am sure I will become more familiar with it upon further listening.

All in all, another cracking perfomance from Heartstring who are going from strength to strength at the moment, securing gigs at respected venues across the North West in Wirral, Liverpool and Chester and further across the country in places such as Keele, Manchester and Leeds and having received airplay on both Rare FM and Home Grown Radio New Jersey. Their first album, Hybrid Calling, (following a couple of EPs), is due later this year - although as they remain unsigned it will not be available in shops. I imagine it will be available via their website.

You can find out more about Heartstring on their website, www.heartstringtheband.com.

They are performing live next at the Pacific Road Theatre in Birkenhead, Wirral. Full details of the gig can be found here.