Regular readers will know that Electrelane are my favourite UK band, probably my favourite band anywhere. I first saw them three years ago, not knowing much about them except for a short interview which didn't make them sound particularly interesting. At that show and several subsequent ones, I was flattened by their power. They gave the impression of fashioning some invisible energy-beast out of their collective nerves and fears, like the Id monster in Forbidden Planet.

Early last year I saw them at the Spitz and all shyness was gone. They tore the place up like few bands I've ever seen, full of confidence, blasting their Link-Wray-meets-Neu songs with frightening energy.

Sometime last year their bass player Rachel left, and Ros from Lesbo Pig was asked to join. People who've only seen Ros playing simple guitar chords in Lesbo Pig might be surprised to know that she is a classically-trained multi-instrumentalist. Last week, I finally got to see her play with Electrelane.

It was apparent from the first notes that Ros has had an effect on the band. While keeping the skeletal structures of their music, she has wrapped small intricacies around those bones, and the bass and keyboard play off each other now in a way they didn't before. The combination of this increased delicacy with their brutal energy has taken the band up a level. S, who had scarcely heard them before, was astonished by this show as I had been that first time back in 2002. It was awe-inspiring. My favourite band just got better.