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A year ago, Pixie Saytar was an exciting but undeveloped prospect. She was singing from the deeps of her soul, but the music tended to drone and the arrangements were plain. Still, people still believed in it, and with a bit of imagination on behalf of the listener, there was tremendous art to be witnessed.

And now there's a lot more clarity. Pixie has found a core group of musicians - the Sunshine 3 - who respect the songs and are able to supply some cool dynamics. It never crowds the work, but the melodies are rising nicely and those savvy drum accents are just the thing.

'Waiting For Nothing' is particularly fine. You're thinking of PJ Harvey and her 'Dry' debut, or even Sinead O'Connor looking for a personal mythology on 'Troy'. You can't always figure the exact meaning, but the emotional centre is true. Even the fluffed chords on 'These Dead Hands' and the sustained murmur of 'Make Me Bleed' are all essential.

Pixie keeps the Pavilion crowd rapt and Panda Kopanda ride out on that good humour. But presently they're dropping in little "scene" jokes and their regimented indie aesthetic fails to bite. This is a shame because the rising chatter disguises the white heat of 'About My Temper' with its Gang Of Four essence and the resolute clang of 'Letting Go'.

They take their applause at the end but the Pandas have been too demure, overly technical and lacking in directness. They're a decent local band, but it takes a more resolute beast to survive outside of captivity.

Stuart Bailie
Photos by Stuart Bailie