ANGEL CAGE - Sophie Magic (Organ ORGO16)
They used to be called Angel Interceptor, but the legal brains behind Captain Scarlet weren't so keen. Newly renamed but still bruisingly confident, London indie crow Angel Cage deal in armour- plated guitar pop which marries the slashing energy of riot grrrl to frayed, unhinged melodies.
Singer Jean Hare has a vicious way with vocals, taking gentle strummer `Believe' one minute but snarling 'you're not as big as you think, I'll knock you down" the next.
Although released on a fanzine offshoot label and championed by London alternative radio station XFM, Angel Cage's debut is clearly aimed beyond narrow indie horizons. There are dozens of reference points from the visceral gnashing of Polly Harvey, the icy vibrato of Siouxsie, a chiming Cocteaus twinkle or two, some brutal Pixies riffing, but none of them boil down to slavish imitation.
There's all the stylised savagery and cool attitude that Elastica, for all the hype, never managed to deliver. Like Captain Scarlet himself, Angel Cage sound pretty indestructible.
Stephen Dalton, VOX Magazine
'Sophie Magic'
(ORG Records organO16CD) - KKKK
THEY'VE GONE from fluffy jumpers to
leather jackets. They've gone from
shouting at things and looking like tarts,
to this debut album which makes (hem
sound like they've just stolen the world
and painted it silver. Something special
indeed.
Something special has happened to
Angel Cage (formerly Angel interceptor
and Anaseed) since they discovered they
were better than their squat/indie roots.
A banner in the crowd at a Scottish
Terrorvision show read `Angel Cage for
Donington!'. Now that would be fucking
hilarious. Not a chance.
Smash Hammerbox's Carrie Acre, the
Pepperami advert and Vivienne
Westwood into a day-glo cocktail of
crooning mischief, and you're
close to vocalist Jean Hare's manic
worldview. Add the Nymphs, Hole,
Boston and Iggy for musical launchpads.
Light the blue touchpaper and prepare
for the pertectly bullish `Princess Die',
the pretty `Dagenham' and the enormous
`Cruiser'.
Seek out `Sophie Magic' and go paint
your town silver.
Kerrang Magazine
ANGEL CAGE SCARE ME
Angel Cage are so good that I went out and bought a CD player so I could buy their album. I saw them at Charing X station after the Avail gig, but I was hideously sobre and a bit star- struck Legion of the Damned fanzine, issue 2 - Oct 1996
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