Skinny jeans and worn out shoes shuffle along the streets outside a Soho record shop. Beer cans hidden in jackets, dark sunglasses shading adolescent eyes as the sun begins to shy behind the bullying metal towers of London’s west end.

Sister Ray stands firmly and independently at the feet of the now crowding fans. The dusty smell of record racks filled with nostalgic vinyl greets you at the door as a wave of people crashes through filling every isle inside. Its dark, cramped, hot... perfect. The dust settles on a makeshift stage fashioned in the darkest corner of the shop. Guitars, drums and a peculiar mouth piano lay under lit and over played on stage.

Just a ripple, a murmur, the malleable gathering of bodies moves ever closer to the front, anticipating. Cheers and whistles greet the Brighton boys as they nonchalantly stroll on and begin their set. The lyrics of “Toothpaste Kisses” sail poetically over the racks of Jazz and Funk, met with closed eyes and smiling faces as the room basks in the presence of The Maccabees. Looks are fired around the room, all conveying the same thought that these guys are something special. The dawning question then follows, why these chaps are not one of the biggest bands in the country? Three more songs including the heavy set and dark toned “No Kind Words”, a single release from their forthcoming album “Wall of Arms”, concretes the question further.

They play the crowd like puppets, not one person resisting as each note played pulls the wires in the right direction. Each lyric mouthed and every beat tapped by a transfixed audience until the final cord.

These boys were not just playing to fans. These people have a genuine love for the band, kindred spirits that follow them the length of the country. This is their band. “I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine”.

Posted In Live Reviews, Jun 08 2009. Words - Michael