Mickey Gang
Barfly, London
29/09/2009

Cheeky grins, awkward stage antics, nervy banter in broken English and a talent for knocking out perfectly formed, playful post-punk – Mickey Gang are adorable. The Brazilian teens don’t seem to know it yet however, as they clamber onto the Barfly stage during a brief run of London dates looking more than a little petrified.
Now remember this is the notoriously difficult to impress capital, so the foursome are greeted with initial suspicion before brilliantly jerky opener ‘We Are Wolves’ provokes even the snooty geek chic types at the back into proper full-flailing dancing halfway through its anthemic chorus. It’s an impressive start, which gives way to even more catchy pop fizz as the band treat us to blogosphere faves ‘Virgin’, ‘With Love, Prince’ and ‘I Was Born In The 90s’ – the latter featuring some fantastically odd lyrics; “We can go to my room, do the Macarena dance” standing out in particular and proving particularly difficult to shift from the brain.
The energy and joy emanating from the stage throughout Mickey Gang’s performance tonight is so infectious even the hipsters can’t resist them, and at times it’s also easy to forget just how intricate their music is. And that’s the magic of it. Frantic rhythms from their incredibly baby-faced drummer (he looks about twelve) give way to rushes of spidery riffs and the occasional burst of well-placed synths, and the sweetly yelped vocals are utterly distinctive yet in places reminiscent of both CSS and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah simultaneously. Such clever stuff.
The climax comes with stunning debut single ‘Horses Can’t Dance’, and it sends the place into full-on frenzy before the quartet scamper off, thanking us all profusely for listening. Swoon-some indeed.

Camilla Pia