Shuffle - London Borderline - 12/3/07
4/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
It normally takes a whole show to realise that you're watching your new favourite band (oh how we love to say that), but catching just the conclusion of Shuffle's opening set at The Borderline you're into that mindset that Arcade Fire put you in, that instant emotion that belches at you that, yes indeed, these guys are going to be on your stereo until the day you die.
The reason we mention Arcade Fire, aside from the fact that in the shade of their latest album it seems almost wrong not to cite them within every article (it's just that good), is that these guys, and gal, have the same elating sense of an organised shambles that the 'Fire have on stage. What's more is that although their mode is so Arcade it'll put the wind right up your kilt, the songs themselves have a harsh splutter of Art Brut which luridly projects a gleam of Britishness and faint subversive joy that beguiles a 'secret club' feel.
If you'd said a month ago, even after their exultant tour with Charlotte Hatherley, we'd be watching the overlooked and deeply unlawful love children of Arcade Fire, Art Brut and (though we're not sure why we're using this comparison, it just seems to fit) The Hives, we'd have laughed in your face and told you to crawl back into the crack that once you sprang, in a twisted Russell Brand accent. Yet we stand looking at not just one of the most matchless bands in the country, but at the beginning bright lights of what could be the crossover band of next year if not this. They're too imaginative to take your eyes off, and while you shake your head with astonishment at a live show that kicks any MOR Swedish garage band well 'n' truly up the wrong 'un, their deftly layered songs clout you with a convincing tinge of stiff and swift veracity.
Live, Shuffle are like the rock band Love Is All should have been with the muscle that most bands with a comparable catalogue daren't take on. Their set, like their record, is faultless and tumbles with a sulking wall of sound and smoke into a facet of music that's lain as yet untouched. They're so exciting you can't even find the time to have a sip of your drink and instead slowly lick the foam from the top of your beer while urgently scanning the stage trying to speculate what's coming next, and what does for Shuffle is uncompromisingly nothing short of unexpected. We'd say keep your eyes on this band, but should you get the chance to see them, we really don't need to... if anything we should be reminding you to blink once in a while.
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