Fleeing New York

I hate rock ‘n’ roll. I hate the seedy cliché it’s become – the Toni&Guy haircuts, the skinny fit t-shirts and the glamorous crack habits. I hate The Strokes, The Libertines and I long to grab Johnny Borrell and scream into his face ‘MAKE IT NEW. MAKE IT FUCKING NEW!’

And ‘making it new’ is exactly what Fleeing New York have done. They’ve taken the garage rock mould and stretched it, chiselled it and given it a loving lick of paint to create a brand of guitar driven rock ‘n’ roll that is entirely their own. With their slightly haunting yet somewhat bluesy overtone and incredible male/female dual vocal attack, their delivery of stick-in-the-head tracks such as ‘Surefire’ and new single ‘Hollywood Bowl’, although not always perfectly tight, induce a nodding head or a tapping toe in even the unlikeliest of suspects.

It’s been a while since I last saw this band live and in that time they’ve found their magic. Maybe it’s just because, with this being their single launch party, the room is full of friends, family and fans, but all the same there’s something truly enigmatic about watching a band really enjoy themselves onstage. A guitarist who’s not too consumed with looking cool to smile, a bassist who isn’t too busy trying to look sultry and sexy to have fun and an overall feeling that for this Southampton three-piece, things have only just begun. And seriously, this music is a hell of a lot more worthwhile and exciting than that one razorlightzutonhivesordinaryboykingsofleon song you keep listening to and pissing your pants cos you weren’t soaking it up the first time round back in the 70’s.