They have the major label, the celebrity fan (Nicole Kidman paddled through beer puddles to see them play in a Camden pub) and the wacky girl singer, who hails from Whitefish, Montana. What Venus Hum don't have, however, is timing.
Although attempts have been made to link them with New York's electroclash hipsters, evidently on the basis that synthesisers feature in their sound, this Nashville-based trio don't sound especially of the moment, or even of the century. Rather, they are a tweaked version of late-1980s female-fronted indie bands, most obviously the Sugarcubes and Cocteau Twins. As such, they haven't had the media attention of other up-and-comers, and still seem to be a closely guarded secret.
Fifteen minutes before they were due on stage, the Spitz was so empty it looked as if Venus Hum would be playing to the bar staff. With 10 minutes to go, the room suddenly filled - had a coach party from Nashville just arrived? - and by the time Annette Strean, Kip Kubin and Tony Miracle tiptoed behind microphone and computers they were faced with a creditably full house.
But can this music, mad and lovely as it often is, transcend cult status? While Strean, with her Bjork-alike voice and Minnie Mouse dress sense, is clearly something of a star, the entire show rests on her shoulders, and that is a tall order.
Her array of noises - squeaks, gasps, the buzzing of a vengeful bee - was fascinating for the first half-dozen songs, especially set against Kubin and Miracle's cartoonish electronic whooshing. Strean's wordless wailing on the title track of their upcoming debut EP, Hummingbirds, produced goosebumps; the deranged Spain, during which the singer hugged herself as she panted like a thirsty chihuahua, compelled one man at the back to shout, "Genius!"
Like most idiosyncratic pop, though, it is best in small doses, and things were flagging after the first half hour. Hence the cult of Hum may never grow to fill stadiums, Nicole Kidman or not.
· Venus Hum play V2002 on Saturday and Sunday. Box office: 0870 120 2002.
