Stealing Sheep + Sea Of Bees

Where the Liverpool trio's singles sound like a hazy cross between Beth Jeans Houghton and The Beta Band, their live set is centred on Lucy Mercer's primitive stand-up drumming.

Creating a solid backbeat around which Emily Lansley's tremolo heavy guitar and Rebecca Hawley's keyboard circle, they frequently evoke the incantatory gothic spirit of Siouxsie Sioux dancing barefoot to Patti Smith.

Their three-part harmonies also largely eschew their earlier folksiness. The dead-eyed vocals on the opening number come across as strangely sinister while on Paper Moon they drop away to create interesting dynamics.

New track Gold, meanwhile, manages to be a disco version of The Raincoats.

There's a similar element of surprise about the set by Sea of Bees, with the between-song presence of Julie Baenziger (pictured) forsaking the intense vulnerability of her debut album Songs For The Ravens.

In its place there's humorous banter and octopus impressions that add welcome relief to the Sacramento artist's material.

Drawing heavily on '70s country-rock, there are nods to Neil Young on the likes of Gnomes and Wizbot, while her cover of John Denver's Leaving On A Jet Plane mainlines into her formative AOR influences.

The material she previews from her imminent second album suggests a more power-pop edge which is well suited to her three-piece band. Broken evokes King-era Belly while Going has the stoner country-rock quality of The Lemonheads.

The material could easily fall into the same pleasantly inconsequential bracket as First Aid Kit, especially on the like of Strikefoot, but Baenziger's raw cotton-mouth voice lends it a tender honesty.

This is clearly evidenced throughout but is especially prominent on set closer Willis, rendered a capella and off mic.

Stealing Sheep are on tiour until September. For dates, visit: www.myspace.com/stealingsheep