Thursday 24/04/08 Cage The Elephant, The Postelles @ Proud Gallery, Camden

There are about six bands on tonight, but the ones worth mentioning are inconveniently placed at either end of the bill. Both are very young, very American, and very good in very different ways.

The Postelles are a stylish four-piece from New York that dress, sound and act like The Strokes. They have even got Albert Hammond Jr. to produce their new single. Their debut EP hasn’t quite garnered the same acclaim as ‘The Modern Age’, but is promising nonetheless. ‘White Night’ is an uncomplicated jig filled with Kooks-borrowed wails and catchy couplets, jerky enough to tease a few people away from their stables.

Oh, I forgot to mention: Proud has moved to a former horse hospital, so all the seating stalls are actually stalls and the concept of grazing by the bar has taken on a whole new meaning. The sheer novelty of this perhaps contributes to the thinness of numbers for The Postelles sharp set. They continue with the afore-mentioned single, ‘123 Stop’, a tighter, teenage romp about hating goodbyes that snaps past with a chart-friendly fizz.

Their five-song set ends with another toe-tapping burst of duelling guitars, likeably loose lyrics and grinning gusto from the group. There is a thrilling abandon to their appearance, looking unwaveringly unconcerned about the sparse crowd. After their show they proceed to get merry, confident that their songs – or if not then their outrageously drunk bassist - are exciting enough to eventually gain exposure.