Voca People

Voca People, the YouTube sensation, are a freakishly inhuman, all human music machine. It's an odd paradox that something which is entirely the product of the human voice sounds so incredibly fake. When Voca People perform a classical medley—a bit from the William Tell overture, a spot of the Hallelujah Chorus, the odd opera aria—I think how synthesised, how electronic. It is impressive by all means, but freakish and not beautiful.

The troupe of eight frame their vocal feats with a story of sorts. They pretend to be aliens come to earth from the musical planet of Voca. This involves them dressing up entirely in white and squeaking at each other like albino morphs on acid. There are lots of high jinks. They make musical instruments out of members of audience and check them for what music they have inside their head and—oo, how hilarious, a girl has 'Here comes the Bride', while her male partner has 'Sex, Sex, Sex.' Camp humour is par for the a cappella course, but this is patronising and smug.

Almost every musical set is a medley: a film medley a love medley, a clubbing medley. It's like when little children show off. Look at us, Voca People are metaphorically shouting (or squeaking), look how clever we are! See all the songs we can sing. Behold our imperceptible key changes, ye mighty, and despair!

Expertly executed a cappella, shame about the demented tellytubbies act.