Top ten new bands at Camden Crawl

The new bands we saw at this year's event

United Kingdom | by Alex Fahey | 29 April 2009

We countdown the best ten emerging acts we saw this weekend, so best Dr Fox voices please. In at number ten…

10 - Drums Of Death
No drums and luckily no death involved here, just one face painted DJ fingering around on a laptop and connected gadgets in a Camden boozer. Drums Of Death aka Colin Bailey is a Scottish producer that’s being championed by the likes of Rob da Bank, but live his mixture of microphone work and acid bass trips come across as self-indulgent and more aggressive than danceable.

9 - The Virgins
If good looks could kill, theses Americans would be in The Hague being tried for mass murder, but it’s their 80’s fop indie that should be under trial instead. Without much stage presence (taking your shirt off doesn’t count) The Virgins are quite a dull prospect. Musically they are a mixture of pop and garage indie – think The Rapture under Simon Cowell’s control - creating the type of clean riffs Sneaker Pimps would love to remix and their cover of Squeeze’s ‘Up The Junction’ is simply lifeless.

8 - Dinosaur Pile-Up
Leeds has a thriving rock scene, with the motto the heavier the better and Dinosaur Pile-Up are no exception to that formula. The problem is though that Dinosaur Pile-Up are just that - no exception. On record ‘My Rock And Roll’ is a monstrous track – one prefect for starting the weekend – but unfortunately the band think they’re Spinal Tap and they turn the bass and gain knobs so high that the intricacies in the riffs and inter-play between the three musicians are dissolved in feedback. Though their Nine Black Alps sound should guarantee them a few slots at heavier festivals this year.

7 - General Fiasco
How long can one band rely on a single? General Fiasco’s ‘Rebel Get By’ has been on heavy rotation for what seems like the whole of last year and justifiably so, it’s a great tune. That’s why when the single finishes the set the crowd move into a sing-a-long frenzy that at last matches the energy that the band have been showing for the whole performance. The Northern Ireland band are led by the Strathern brothers who are positioned either side of the stage but combine in an explosion of guitar swinging and bright white stage lights in the Electric Ballroom. The rest of the set list suggests that General Fiasco are not quite the complete package, but a few more gigs like this and their knack for making a good tune, it shouldn’t be long until they are.

6 - The King Blues
With an ongoing recession, bands like The King Blues are going to be crucial for the music and politics crossover, it’s just a shame they’ve got a touch of the Pigeon Detectives about them. The Clapham punks are energetic in performance and unapologetic in opinion: “It wasn’t natural causes,” lead singer Itch tells the crowd about Ian Tomlinson’s death at the G20 Summit, “it was police brutality.” Punk in ethos, but pop in delivery, tracks like ‘I Got Love’ and ‘Save The World, Get The Girl’ will make the charts, but not for the same reasons 'God Save The Queen' ever did.

5 - Alessi’s Ark
Like most teenagers, 18-year old Alessi Laurent-Marke is a thief. “I’ve stolen the drums for this next song from ‘Five Years’ by David Bowie,” she says to the fifty or so people before she goes into ‘The Asteroids Collide', “but he’s not here tonight.” The youngster makes English ipod folk that’s going to get her Newsom and Fiest comparisons and if she and her Ark continue to playing so tightly, people are going to want to watch this live and chuck the ipod away altogether.

4 - Peggy Sue
Now without the Pirates (in name at least), Peggy Sue use such an arsenal of instruments during their set in The Monarch that they could sink a battleship. The trio pluck out ukuleles and accordions to create a glorious mixture of barque folk and swooping shared vocals which make tracks like ‘The Sea The Sea’ shimmer live. They even throw in their own version of a Missy Elliot track to round off the, by their own admission, “best show [they’ve] ever done,” and the crowd will find it hard to disagree.

3 – Gold Teeth
Summers are often remembered by one track. Whether it’s The Streets’ ‘Dry Your Eyes’ in 2004 as England crashed out of the Euro championships or that boiling summer of 1976 with Elton John and Kiki Dee were asking each other not to break their heart. Fast-forward to 2009 and Gold Teeth could be on the money with the calypso xylosynth hook of ‘Everybody’. The Barfly certainly found it instantly danceable, and while the rest of the ska-fuelled set isn’t as catchy, it’s certainly energetic and that’s half the battle. One to watch.

2 – Crazy Cousinz
Remember garage music? When Spoony was still playing tunes on Radio 1 and not reviewing footy on Five Live? The hazy days when MCs rapped things like: “When I say helter, you say skelter. Helter…” Well, it’s back and much better than before. DJs and producers Crazy Cousinz (just check out that z instead of a s) mix b-lines with dancehall riddems to produce one of the most exciting dance music sounds to emerge since dubstep. Remixes of Robin S’ ‘Show Me Love’ and the Cousinz’s own ‘Funky Anthem’ are instant dancefloor anthems and with the DJ looking like he’s into it as much as the crowd, the self-indulgent class of disc jockey will hopefully slip away soon…

1 - Hockey
A guitarist wearing Ray Bans indoors and a frontman like an extra from the ‘Let’s Get Physical’ video, Hockey have certainly got the hipster clichés circled. But the Portland five-piece are far cry from the self-indulgent Shoreditch sound mixing 80’s disco, indie and a touch of American country (no really). Despite a small crowd lead singer Benjamin Grubin is energetic (that’s why he wears a headband), especially during single ‘Too Fake’ - a funky electro kicker that has already started to invade the airwaves. On this performance, Hockey will be big, but, to quote ‘Too Fake’ at the moment “nobody’s watching, but everyone cares.”

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