Soundbyte: November Fleet

by Devil’s Food Cake, photographs by Bri’ish Patel (aka Carrot Cake)

I really hate being late for gigs. So when I turned up several minutes into November Fleet’s set at Camden Barfly, I was understandably irritated. On this occasion, though, my lateness might have been a good thing – running up the stairs to the venue, I was greeted by a pure barrage of joyful sound as I entered the room.

November Fleet are an all-girl, three-piece wave of sound based in London. With the usual designated frontwoman dispensed of and replaced by collective confrontational representation, members Nic Crawshaw, El Reeve and Jess Tratt have grabbed rhythm, melody and out-and-out sound and made them their own.

I’m going to be honest – I’d had an insane week before the gig, and hadn’t exactly done my research. In short, I had no idea what to expect, and when I walked in, I was totally shocked. The sight of those three on stage could have you underestimating what you’re in for – they’re tiny-looking things with their instruments. You’d be in for a surprise though. Every song they began was accompanied by a palpable surge in energy, and I found myself utterly unable to resist nodding along and whooping after each song.

A brief chat afterward revealed them all to be lovely as well, charismatic and charming. And they love their music – boy, do they. It’s refreshing to see such passion permeate a sound, and it was obvious through every song that they were playing stuff they were really proud of, music they loved. That love was infectious – not one person in the room escaped the dynamism that radiated out of the girls’ instruments and off that stage. If you haven’t heard of November Fleet yet, or have yet to check them out, I strongly recommend you do.

You can check out November Fleet’s website here and their Myspace here. The band’s next gig will be on March 5th at the Camden Barfly.