Tuesday 31/07/07 Elliot Minor @ The Barfly, Camden, London

Although lead singer Alex bears more than a passing resemblance to Jack Sparrow, it’s an apparently non-ironic gesture when Elliot Minor amble on stage to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme.  Pledging allegiance to such a franchise could cause a band to veer dangerously in to ‘wacky’ territory – but Elliot Minor do not appear concerned. They get a sold-out Barfly crowd screaming hysterically for a full two minutes before even acknowledging them, so it’s safe to say they’ve done just fine so far without courting credibility.  Indeed, snooty scenesters are mistakenly determined to place the band squarely into a big, angsty box marked ‘emo’.  But despite the tortured artist signifiers (black clothes, hint of eyeliner, silly haircuts) Elliot Minor are defiantly pop.  This is a cheerful band whose second single, Jessica, is simply about how fit Jessica Alba is.   This is a band unafraid of Motley Crue-style headbands.

But don’t be alarmed – they are nothing like The Darkness.  True, they can really play (almost annoyingly well, in fact, for a band whose average age barely scrapes 21 – they are all classically trained), but musically they are a million miles away from mere hair-metal parody. Their energetic signature sound – think CKY meets Abba – translates incredibly well live; it’s possibly the first time I’ve genuinely felt the venue floor might collapse under the weight of bouncing teenagers. Most songs leap out of the tracks at a hundred miles an hour and rarely let up; they do attempt the occasional epic ballad but it’s effortlessly catchy speed-pop in which the band truly excels.

The best example of this is debut single ‘Parallel Worlds’, which recently sneaked into the lower reaches of the Top 40 almost entirely thanks to word of mouth.  Presumably influenced by the heroic metal stylings of Dragonforce, it’s a huge, ever-so-slightly-ludicrous song with more hooks and harmonies than it knows what to do with.  Tonight the band perform it spectacularly, with a swaggering confidence only veteran rockers should reasonably be allowed to pull off. 

Elliot Minor are unlikely to be championed by the ‘serious’ music press but in this myspace world we keep hearing so much about - where clear influences Muse and My Chemical Romance can pack out stadiums - they seem perfectly placed for success.  They might not be particularly ‘cool’ but they are a lot of fun – and they also have the ability to knock out tunes that could slay American radio.  If any up and coming Brits are going to make it over there, it should be this lot.  Expect to hear more from them soon – whether you like it or not.