Post punk supergroup in good Voicex

Welding together the core engine components from three of Scotland's most vital cult offerings of the late 1970s, Voicex are the voice of experience.
Voicex: Suky, Coco, Colin and Paul. Picture: Deborah MullenVoicex: Suky, Coco, Colin and Paul. Picture: Deborah Mullen
Voicex: Suky, Coco, Colin and Paul. Picture: Deborah Mullen

The spiky vocals of psychedelic performance poet and Fistymuffs member Suky Goodfellow are fortified by an Edinburgh punk and post-punk triumvirate. Bass, lead guitar and synths are supplied by Coco Whitson (Boots For Dancing) and Paul Research (Scars), with beats courtesy of former Matt Vinyl & The Decorators drummer Colin Bendall.

Hopes are high indeed for this local supergroup as they gear up to headline a hometown debut gig at the Voodoo Rooms on Friday 18 May.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As you may well expect at this point, the sound of Voicex borrows heavily from the UK punk scene of the late seventies and early eighties.

Two Voicex tracks, Never and The Immortals, are available on YouTube. Displaying perfect balance, one is a jaggedly energetic punk paean, the other a much darker, neo-dystopian and gutfelt affair.

Both tunes contain shades of Siouxsie and The Banshees with hints of PiL, Pyschedelic Furs, Joy Division, Gang Of Four and all the usual suspects.

But other elements are at play too.

In guitarist Paul Research’s very own words, Voicex has the “direct, no-prisoners attack of punk, the discord and agitation of post/punk” with a sound harking back to Bowie, Bolan and the Velvet Underground.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Contemporary overtones, meanwhile, suggest a nod to later movements - the Postcard Records/C86 era most notably, but there’s a definite pop quality to the proceedings that is more than a little reminiscent of Suede, Echobelly and Elastica.

In short, Voicex are a broad melting pot of influences with the potential to delight and enthral a post-Generation X audience.

Support comes from the Ferramoans, with The Fakes making their long-awaited return.

Voicex, The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street, Friday 18 May, 7.30pm, £6, Skiddle.com/£7.50 on the door