EMF @ The Caves, Edinburgh, 12th March: Indie ravers are no one trick pony

Back in 1990 EMF were all the rave. Quite literally.

They sounded like they were sandwiched in the back of a Ford Fiesta on its way to an afters. There was the nonsense of The Happy Mondays on one side of them while the indie-dance fidgeting presence of The Prodigy was on the other.

Somewhere along the way, EMF didn’t make it as far as the other passengers. After their debut ‘Schubert Dip’ they released a few more albums, but they never managed to capture the lightning of the song that made them. To be honest, not many acts could.

‘Unbelievable’ might have come out over thirty-five years ago but it’s still instantly recognisable. The frantic guitar solo, the breathless rap from frontman James Atkin and the famous shout of “YOU’RE UNBELIEVABLE’” have been everywhere ever since. From films such as Space Jam to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, there’s no denying its popularity.

But was that one massive tune reason enough to go and see the band on their run of intimate shows that took in The Caves in Edinburgh?

That’s probably a little harsh on EMF. They have some cracking songs in the pockets of their trackie bottoms. ‘Children’, for instance, didn’t hit the heights of its famous sibling but it’s arguably the better tune.

They’ve also got Atkin, a singer who knows exactly how to work a crowd. From his squint baseball cap and stage-stomping that made him look like an unruly teenager, to calling out racists and fascists, he gave the capital crowd what they wanted.

The set itself was to the point. Gone, thankfully, was ‘Girl of an Age’, a song which feels inappropriate to say the least. In its place were a couple of new songs. They were so fresh that Atkin spat out the lyrics while reading them from reams of paper scattered about the stage.

They also chucked in a montage of electronic covers from back in the day that had many reliving a misspent youth. In saying that, their version of The Monkees’ classic ‘I’m a Believer’ had seen better days.

Then it came. The moment we were all waiting for. Atkin summed it up by saying it needed no introduction before the band ripped into You Know What.

He might have been the only one who mistimed the chorus, but no one cared.

We were all too busy dancing.