Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

As the likes of Fleetwood Mac have demonstrated, romances within a band are famously rancorous and destructive.

And happily, that's also the case for Kiwi duo Two Hearts, with Laura Daniel and Joseph Moore's transition from bandmates to a couple affording them greater scope for internal sniping, clash of egos and even supernatural-inspired betrayal.

As the dragon-like diva committed to the marriage solely for frugal touring considerations, Daniel openly and aggressively flaunts her infidelities with the likes of Ed Sheeran. But Moore is a willing cuckold, objecting only when her dalliances fuel her dangerous obsession with cryptocurrency, NFTs and the metaverse. Besides, he's got his own interests to indulge and while the cat's away …

In these cash-strapped, pre-apocalyptic times, Two Hearts display Spinal Tap-esque levels of self-awareness, equipping their stage with screens, full-on lighting battery and backing dancers as they sing earnestly about climate change. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is another of Daniel's preoccupations.

With big, banging tunes and a genuinely impressive spectacle, they dress for the global superstar position they want, rather than the one they have, with Daniel repeatedly mentioning herself in the same breath as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. For all that the tunes are consistently funny, Two Hearts are a solid warm-up for a proper night out.

From the straightforwardly catchy Tummy Rosé, a feel-good pop appeal to the responsibility of mixing your drinks, to nightmarish visions of Disney characters cavorting erotically in virtual reality, Two Hearts are adept at seeding themes throughout their songs for pay-off later on. It allows them to at least project profundity even if their message-bringing, pop star Messiah complex is at odds with their more quotidian interests, petty squabbling and utter superficiality.

One deliciously ironic track has Moore let off the leash while Daniel departs for one of her regular costume changes, rapping cocksure about all the ladies he's going to treat like princesses, thanks to the economic oppression of the patriarchy. And what's good for the goose is good for the gander, with Daniel's heartfelt fantasy about living as a man for a single day, abused and exploited for Criminal gain.

Although the arrival of the songs' twists are a little formulaic structurally, it's testimony to Two Hearts' inventiveness that you never anticipate their precise form before the chorus or the coda delivers it, even as they're repeatedly hitting the zeitgeist or a target slightly to the side of it.

That topicality rarely gives them the timelessness of Flight Of The Conchords, who also retain a broader mastery of musical styles. But in their more illustrious forebears' absence from the festival, Daniel and Moore are able deputies.

As the likes of Fleetwood Mac have demonstrated, romances within a band are famously rancorous and destructive.

And happily, that's also the case for Kiwi duo Two Hearts, with Laura Daniel and Joseph Moore's transition from bandmates to a couple affording them greater scope for internal sniping, clash of egos and even supernatural-inspired betrayal.

As the dragon-like diva committed to the marriage solely for frugal touring considerations, Daniel openly and aggressively flaunts her infidelities with the likes of Ed Sheeran. But Moore is a willing cuckold, objecting only when her dalliances fuel her dangerous obsession with cryptocurrency, NFTs and the metaverse. Besides, he's got his own interests to indulge and while the cat's away …

In these cash-strapped, pre-apocalyptic times, Two Hearts display Spinal Tap-esque levels of self-awareness, equipping their stage with screens, full-on lighting battery and backing dancers as they sing earnestly about climate change. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is another of Daniel's preoccupations.

With big, banging tunes and a genuinely impressive spectacle, they dress for the global superstar position they want, rather than the one they have, with Daniel repeatedly mentioning herself in the same breath as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. For all that the tunes are consistently funny, Two Hearts are a solid warm-up for a proper night out.

From the straightforwardly catchy Tummy Rosé, a feel-good pop appeal to the responsibility of mixing your drinks, to nightmarish visions of Disney characters cavorting erotically in virtual reality, Two Hearts are adept at seeding themes throughout their songs for pay-off later on. It allows them to at least project profundity even if their message-bringing, pop star Messiah complex is at odds with their more quotidian interests, petty squabbling and utter superficiality.

One deliciously ironic track has Moore let off the leash while Daniel departs for one of her regular costume changes, rapping cocksure about all the ladies he's going to treat like princesses, thanks to the economic oppression of the patriarchy. And what's good for the goose is good for the gander, with Daniel's heartfelt fantasy about living as a man for a single day, abused and exploited for Criminal gain.

Although the arrival of the songs' twists are a little formulaic structurally, it's testimony to Two Hearts' inventiveness that you never anticipate their precise form before the chorus or the coda delivers it, even as they're repeatedly hitting the zeitgeist or a target slightly to the side of it.

That topicality rarely gives them the timelessness of Flight Of The Conchords, who also retain a broader mastery of musical styles. But in their more illustrious forebears' absence from the festival, Daniel and Moore are able deputies.

• Two Hearts: We're Pregnant And The Baby is Music is on at Assembly George Square at 8.50pm

Review date: 7 Aug 2022
Reviewed by: Jay Richardson
Reviewed at: Assembly George Square