The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Trinity, Bristol

Albarn provides two bands for the price of one

Damon Albarn has let it be known that his new vehicle the Good, the Bad and the Queen is a "story" rather than a band. Onstage, though, they looked and sounded like two bands - which was mostly a good thing.

Although at times, it seemed that two disparate elements were pulling in different directions, this style collision has also produced a mesmerising new 12-song body of work, which they play in album order.

In many ways, GBQ have forged a postmodern wistful folk epic from the depths of West London; lullabies and laments for better times shot through with heavy dread bass-lines. The sparse, cavernous feel of the songs prevent this from becoming a contrived, jarring mishmash, and at the occasional moment where it doesn't quite gel on this first night, it surely will as the tour progresses. The former Blur frontman and his on-off collaborator, guitarist Simon Tong, placed themselves motionlessly and sedately on the left side of the stage, with a string section huddled behind them.

Stage-right, however, the rhythm section - Fela Kuti's old drummer Tony Allen and The Clash's Paul Simonon, both in pork-pie hats - were dubbing it to the max. Albarn has that rare attribute of improving and reaching new levels of fascination with every successive project. His voice seemed to reach new exquisite qualities - towering above the mockney whine of his Parklife days. With bursts of Wurlitzer-style fairground organ here and there from Albarn, some delicate fretwork from Tong, it's wistful, but not schmaltzy and nostalgic. It's more a universal emotive generator, as on 'Nature Springs.'

Yet you can almost feel that Simonon, and the understated Allen, are itching to unleash their rhythmic force. They get their chance ten songs in, to let rip on 'Three Changes', a tumultuous epic about "a stroppy little island of mixed-up people". By the time they've reached the final, title track the whole band has found an effervescent groove.