Camden Crawl

Some words from Camden Crawl this year by Big City Red Neck (http://www.bigcityredneck.co.uk/articles/Spindle_&_Wit_@_Hawley_Arms/109/9/1)

CAMDEN Crawl, for all its merits (a plethora of up-and-coming bands shoe-horned into a square mile of north London, the chance to watch Madness stumbling through their greatest hits perched on an open-topped bus), will still always fall foul of one thing: Being in Camden. 

And battling through the skinny-jeaned, scraggy-haired soup of cuntdom to the very epicentre of the cliquey north London scene might, to any self-respecting human being, sound like a fate worse than death. 

We're going right into the middle of it all, and like a soldier going over the top without a gun, we're not even wearing pork-pie hats or skinny-fit vests. Such is the bravery of Big City Redneck

The Hawley Arms certainly didn't disappoint with its clientele tonight. Pixie Geldof's elfish face bounds through the door in front of us dressed as Eminem (don't ask), while upstairs members of Babyshambles and scenester electro-girls Robots in Disguise jostle for space at the bar. 

And let's not forget the swathes of tourists and locals, all loudly discussing how they were regulars in the pre-fire days. 

So, as Spindle & Wit amble onto a makeshift stage in the corner of the Hawley Arms, we bunker down for what we suspect is going to be half an hour of Camden's most popular export after sub-standard cocaine and under-sized bags of weak weed – dreary acoustic pap. 

The components are all there – a floppy-haired frontman who could topple Luke Pritchard from his throne as indie-girl's poster boy of choice; a fresh-faced young girl whose place in Glamour magazine is as assured as a slot in Observer Music Monthly or the NME; and a troupe of vintage-store rummagers complete the line-up.

But any thoughts of another Kooks revival are swiftly – and thankfully – swept aside as Spindle & Wit launch chaotically into their opening number, the jangly plucking of a banjo and violin cutting through the murky swamp of bass, drums and acoustic guitars.
It's rough around the edges, sure – there's only so much perfection you can expect from a band balancing atop a stage made from bar stools, chairs and a borrowed drum-riser. 

But the technical difficulties that threaten to stall the band's set from breaking into a gallop only help to endear the band to their audience - thanks in no small part to their pleasingly unpretentious delivery.

Mistakes are met with smiles, dancing audience members greeted with a grin. There's no Gallagher-esque swagger on show here, and there's an overwhelming feeling that – God forbid – the band are actually enjoying themselves. 

This can't be Camden anymore, Toto. 

Make no mistake, there are tunes aplenty in Spindle & Wit's armoury. The introspective boy-girl duelling on standout track Broken Bridges hushes even the Hawley's crowd, and the raucous Normandy nods knowingly towards London folk-troubadour Kid Harpoon. 

But it's set closer Bring Out The Sun – the band's forthcoming single due to be released in July – that finally tips the crowd into a full-on, arms flailing, smile-inducing jig. 

The timing's perfect; Hot on the heels of Noah & The Whale's success last summer, the baton's ready for Spindle & Wit to take over the commercial folk crown - and Bring Out The Sun could just be the summer anthem we've waited for all year. 

And even better than that; they've managed to make a Friday night in the Hawley Arms seem like the best fun we've had in ages. 

For that, if nothing else, they're worth their weight in gold. Now, if only they could escort us back home through those swaggering crowds singing Kasabian choruses into their beer bottles...