stellastarr* - Oxford, UK

At the front of the venue, there's a girl with jet black hair, a black sleeveless top, and a wonderful skirt made from fabric swatches featuring faded images of The Beatles and other 60s icons. She's been dancing almost non-stop for the past two hours. It's the sort of performance that doesn't get praised enough in concert review, so: Beatles skirt-girl, I salute you.

It's been two years since stellastarr* last came to Oxford, and on initial impressions, things don't seem to have changed very much, although the singer, Shawn Christensen has had a well-deserved haircut. They're here to promote their new album, Harmonies For The Haunted, which is getting a UK release in March, and to that end, they open their set with a new track, "Lost In Time," a curious mix of Talking Heads and the theme to Pete and Pete, allowing Shawn to show off his voice, a blend of Robert Smith and Kevin Rowland. But in a good way.

The girl at the front is swaying in time, enjoying the new material. But it's when "No Weather" starts that she gets really excited, throwing her arms aloft, yelling "whatever turns you on" in time with the band's angular rock poses. The rest of the attendees at the Zodiac follow suit; although they're not all that popular here (new single "Sweet Troubled Soul" will have trouble breaking the Top 20 the week of the show), they have attracted a following that makes the venue appear quite full, a following that loves their New Wave stylings (just check out that Bow Wow Wow/Adam Ant bit at the start of "A Million Reasons"!).

As the night slips by, you can't help making favourable comparisons to The Killers. And then wonder - why did they become so successful while stellastarr* hasn't? Perhaps it's all a matter of timing - Hot Fuss was released on a wave of new indie rock, whereas stellastarr* came out just before that wave, and it's been two years since then, leaving them left behind undeservedly.

It's an early end tonight; as the Zodiac needs to entertain the metallers of Oxford, everything has to end by 10PM. The band doesn't let it faze them, ending with boisterous performances of "My Coco," "Somewhere Across Forever" and "Jenny" (and a moment should be taken here to applaud the drummer, Arthur Kremer, who not only gave an impressive topless drumming performance, but also brandished the mysterious asterisk over the right side of his chest all night!), leaving the crowd baying for more.

The girl in the Beatles skirt filtered out of the Zodiac, singing "My Coco" loudly and slightly out-of-time as she steps out into the cold Oxford night. It begins to snow, and she dances down the street, vanishing into the distance...