The Alleycats: a cappella with cattitude

There's an feeling of dread heading into The Alleycats' performance: what if the St Andrews student group are about to serve up an hour of a cappella music laden with feline punnery? It's a blessed relief, then, when the motif extends only as far as a bit of leopard print in their wardrobe. Silly wordplay aside, the eleven-strong group deliver a dynamic, tightly-drilled performance, closely obeying the cardinal rule of a cappella: it's about the creativity of your vocal arrangements, not note-perfect fidelity to the original song.

Theirs is a slightly unconventional set-list for a vocal group, tracing a winding musical path from Shania Twain to Mumford & Sons, but it's a decision that works in The Alleycats' favour. The arrangements are spotless, with Sixpence None the Richer's 'Kiss Me' and Twain's 'That Don't Impress Me Much' proving early highlights, while a couple of surreal medleys towards the end of the show (Michael Jackson meets Dizzee Rascal) are treated with the requisite lack of seriousness.

Unfortunately, the acoustic nature of their show means that the soloists, especially the sopranos, tend to be drowned out by the ten voices behind them. It's an imbalance that impacts their performance at a very basic level. Rhythmic support is also weak, thanks to some comically bad beatboxing, but this has only a limited impact. The Alleycats give the impression that they're having a whale of a time, and the result is an infectiously entertaining performance.