Pull in Emergency at Beyond Retro - LONDON KICKS - Fashion, Music, Art, Film, London and Going Out

Pull In Emergency – Beyond Retro

Beyond Retro on a clammy Saturday afternoon is quite the strange place for a gig, but setting up amongst the vintage frocks is 3/5 of Pull in Emergency. Despite averaging about only 15 years old they have been around for 2 years, had the Guardian Arts section drooling and appeared in I-D. There sound is all low-fi excitable jangle coupled with a star in the making on vocals. Lead singer Faith looks somewhat like how I would imagine Debbie Harry to look at that age and has a vocal sound, which is a dead ringer for Louise Wener of cult Britpop band Sleeper covering Elastica.

Forthcoming single 'Follow' is delivered like aforementioned Britpop Star mixed with Is This It era Strokes, which of course means it is a plumy and instantly catchy rampage, that could be nothing other than fantastic. New track 'Planes' is equally as loveable and charming. Even a Cover of 'Girl With One Eye' by Florence and the Machine, something I would normally consider sacrilege is pulled of with aplomb and is a cavalier attempt at the very difficult vocals. The band do not even play their best song in my opinion, 'Bendy', a song that caused a mass stage invasion at Nambucca the first time I saw this band in late 2006. Sign of good act, always leave the audience wanting more.

The strangest thing about this afternoon's show is that I am one of only six people watching. This is unusual because the thing that seems to characterise the underage bands are the devotion they receive from their fans. Ironically, Cajun Dance Party aside, Pull in Emergency are the only one of these bands that has any longevity in them. This is because the sentence most labelled at most of the under 18 bands in London is "there good, for their age", but with this band it is simply Pull in Emergency are brilliant, full stop.

Matt Keeney

London Kicks 2008

'Follow' is released on Mute Irregulars on 25th August