Reviewed on 8th March 2011.

The Naked And Famous

Live at Cockpit on Wednesday, 2nd March 2011

After continued success in New Zealand, The Naked and Famous have landed in the UK and I was lucky enough to speak with Thom, lead singer and guitarist band and see them perform live at the Cockpit on Wednesday 2nd March.

The evening opened with Wolf Gang, a London based indie band. The opening chords of their first song were reminiscent of Joy Division's drums and guitar combo so famous to the 70s. However the rest of the set did not quite match these opening bars as their sound was more suited to the very established indie scene encompassing Britain at the moment.

Throughout most of the songs there was a very strong bass, which at times could be a bit too powerful and drown out the rest of the band. To balance this the lead vocalist's voice definitely impressed. His style, modeled on the traditional mod rocker with a white flower pinned to his jacket and voice were very distinctive, especially when comparing with current male indie soloists. He definitely gave the band a bit of an edge.

The performance varied from the serious and dark to the light hearted and catchy whether it be during the same song or as an alternative which added great variety to their set. The only trap that I feel the band could potentially fall into is their genre as they fit so well with the current indie scene that they might get lost and become a bit too similar to what is already out there.

Contrast Wolf Gang then to The Naked and Famous where I was expecting to hear a relatively mellowed performance akin to MGMT and The XX as so many comparisons have been drawn over the last couple of months. This was not what came next. The band came out and rocked the evening away with electric guitar riffs, drums echoing a heartbeat and amazing vocals to add to the mix.

Lead vocalists Thom and Alisa walked onto the stage, obviously nervous, but as soon as they started they relaxed into the set and looked very comfortable on the stage bringing bags of energy to the Cockpit. Before the gig started I was lucky enough to talk to Thom who described their music as alternative rock, which was not quite what I was expecting. Thom was definitely right, as their sound on stage is one of rock but mixed with intense electric vibes.

Young Blood and Punching in a Dream were the familiar songs that the crowd were waiting for due to their fame on Vampire Diaries and more recently accompanying the Skins adverts. Adding to their success was Jessie J recently singing acoustically in the Radio 1 live lounge, covering Young Blood, which just serves to promote The Naked and Famous even more. The live versions of these songs were fantastic and truly surpassed the, already incredible, sound of the band. They played all of their album and all of the songs offered something different, whether it was Alisa's energy or the toe tapping drums and guitars. The whole set had the crowd singing along and really feeling the energy bouncing from the stage.

Alisa has one of the most amazing voices that I have heard for a long time and at times was very emotional as she was absorbed in the moment and really connected with the music and lyrics. She bounded about the stage, rocking out to the more intense songs and then slowing things down but always engaging with the crowd. She will definitely be joining the handful of successful indie pop female front runners.

The whole band, obviously, enjoy the music they have created and enjoy sharing it with their fans, which was very humbling and a great thing to witness. After the event Thom and Alisa came out to meet their fans with Alisa spending lots of time signing autographs and having her picture taken really bonding with the fans. With a recent NME award under their belt, 2011 will see great things for this band. Their album is due out in the next few weeks and will be met with eager anticipation. I just have my fingers crossed that they continue to produce such amazing songs and keep entertaining their fans with great gigs like they did last week.