Dead Cat Bounce... Howl of the she-leopard

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Proud to be “the only act ever to have supported both Jason Manford and The Darkness”, Dead Cat Bounce are happily straddling the ever widening musical-comedy niche. Clad in skin tight trousers, bandanas and suede boots (all from women’s stores, natch), the trio prance around the stage, singing about confused Christians on their wedding night, tall women and homophobic penguins. Coherent, zeitgeisty humour this is not.

Like the floppier haired offspring of Axis of Awesome, this group are more rock and less roll than their musical forefathers. Their songs lack substance, though, as much of their humour trades on ideas a little too esoteric to entertain an entire crowd. A suitably random opening number about Chinese people illegally bringing food through customs in Australian airports is a prime example.

Where the real talent lies is in their musical prowess, with many of the songs proving incredibly catchy. Flitting from instrument to instrument and sharing the solos means each member gets their stint in the limelight, and their collective talent is impressive. But the comedy arm of their act is not up to par, and future songs will need more widespread appeal to really make an impact. Their best known song, ‘Rugby,’ is by far their most accessible number, and this is undoubtedly the reason for its success. Unless they pen songs that the audience can in some way identify with, Dead Cat Bounce are better off going down the indie band route, where a little musical talent and a lot of stupid lyrics will suffice.