Singles

The On Offs - Wrong Upstairs

12/06/2006

Rating: 3/5

Quite by chance, I noticed the video to this song is doing well on NME's video chart. Therefore, I naturally assumed this song was going to sound like Strokes Mk II and swagger around like Johnny Borrell.

But I'm wrong (upstairs). The On-Offs' single is a three minute piece of post-Libertines punk with attitude. It's the sort of song Pete Doherty might write with Babyshambles if he would just get clean. It has the summery edge of The Kooks to begin with, but moves into a dirty, harmonised chorus that seems to musically fall up and down stairs. Like The Von Bondies trading blows with The Magic Numbers, or The Coral slumming it round Soho for a weekend.

It's not going to blow anyone away, this single, but it's a firm grounding for The On-Offs. An energetic burst of spunky indie, Wrong Upstairs is a catchy, attractive offering and promises much more, particularly from their live performances. Expect to see The On-Offs at a festival near you.