Review by Steve Bennett

The Kransky Sisters are out of time, and out of place. They are three stern spinsters from the isolated Queensland settlement of Esk, where you imagine they live together in some creepy, crumbling Gothic pile. With their matching twin-sets, harsh fringes and austere manner they project an otherworldly, almost sinister air.

And they sing Sugababes covers.

It's a quirky act, all right. Their experience of music, and life, has been garnered only from what they read wistfully in the magazines or hear over a crackly wireless. And now they've ventured in to civilisation to observe it, not participate.

They live in a timeless bubble of their own. Devoid of human contact, they only have each other. Mourne is the alpha female, who dominates the group with the simpering support of Eve. Together they bully Arva, low status as she's only a half-sister, who is so miserable she cannot bring herself to speak, yet clings to her cruel siblings because they are all she has.

It's a brilliant premise ­ unusual, dark but surprisingly warm. The women behind the Kranskys have succeeded in creating a perfect self-contained parallel universe, rich with possibilities. And it's so well put-together this surreal life seems entirely credible.

Musically, their sound is rich, created from a tuba, a Sixties reed keyboard, guitar and percussion they've found around that mansion, from a quivering saw to a washing-up brush. Their voices often reedy and ethereal when they speak, become more forceful though song.

Half the playlist comprises their own compositions, which tend to sound like East European folk songs, the other half bizarre cover versions. Enough hack musical comics change the lyrics to songs, this lot change the arrangements. The joy is not knowing which of the two types is coming next, so there's a laugh of recognition a few bars into every cover when the penny drops.

Between the songs come the mumbling complaints, surreal anecdotes and subtle glimpses into their domestic isolation that do so well to create a unique atmosphere.

The show is not consistently laugh-out loud funny, but in creating a world of their own, and drawing you in so completely, the Kranskys are an absolute delight.

Hoorah for a proper fringe oddity. The cult starts here.

Steve Bennett

Review date: 1 Jan 2006
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett