Review- Komedia 29thsep Brighton

DOMINIQUE Noiret, the darkly brilliant star of She Said!, is now backed by a third incarnation of her band. Although Mike Kelly's elegant brushed drumwork still propels her finely-crafted songs of heartbreak and revenge, the rest of her rockabilly/country outfit has had a complete change of personnel.

In on double bass comes Mark Carew of Long Tall Texans and Hotknives fame, who gives a smile of joy with every note he plays. With Richard Causon on Hammond organ and Matt Windler on guitar, She Said! have a more distinctly country sound than before, the musicians sitting carefully behind Noiret's low, lamenting voice.

The singer seems to have changed, too: Back in Brighton after a trip to Germany, where she has appeared in a film, she appeared occasionally weary - but the effect was to give her classic beauty and deep, melancholic aura a heavy gravitas. By the end of the set she was actually smiling, even as she delivered her tale of violent sexual obsession, Devil In The Man.

With such an intense talent and the support of musicians of the calibre of Clearlake's Jason Pegg, Noiret's destiny seems obvious, increasing recognition.