Going to a gig on the back of a single song is exciting, right? It’s an experiment, an unknown, an adventure. It’s throwing caution to the wind and just seeing what comes your way.

They look exciting and daring - don't be fooled

OK, it’s not exactly HALO-jumping into an active volcano, but it is still a voyage into the unexpected. The bad thing about the unexpected, of course, is that you don’t know what to expect and sometimes what you come across is dire. Starless and Bible Black, for all their Dylan Thomas referencing (which probably stops at the name), are not a force to excite tired brains, tired ears and tired eyes. Unusually for a gig, they were actually worse than their support acts - a soulful singer-songwriter whose name escapes me like uniqueness escapes him and James Apollo, an Americana artist who performed quite well, but was still quite forgettable.

Starless and Bible Black took to the stage (that phrase is wrong on two counts, as you shall see) and immediately assaulted us with noise. Vicious guitars and out-of-place synth melded together to confuse and irritate. It was indefinable - a mixture of post-rock and electro-folk, or some other unnamable concoction? That word “indefinable”, so often a good thing, really wasn’t with Starless and Bible Black. The ethereal warblings of their singer were not moving, or atmospheric, they were, frankly, a bit annoying.

This is the album - I'd recommend avoiding it

And it wasn’t just the music, it was the performance, or lack thereof. The singer, clearly feeling her presence was unnecessary (or unwanted?), repeatedly left the stage to stand by the bar whenever she had a break in vocals. The rest of the band stood stock still - occasionally doing the post-rock head rock - and played without movement or energy. Just being there sapped the strength from you.

Let me just put in a word on behalf of the venue - The Slaughtered Lamb. It is a fantastic hideaway underneath a pub in Farringdon with walls painted black, sofas and armchairs strewn across the intimate venue, alcoves below the street, and a corner instead of a stage. It was a wonderful place to have a gig, but not this one. Perhaps the low turnout (fewer than fifteen people) was a good thing for this night, but I really hope it’s not a regular problem for the venue.

Words by Robbie Hayward