Emergency Break Old Blue Last Documentary Review
Written by Will Smith
Photos by Dylan Brinkley (@full_time_loser1 on instagram)
On the 13th January, emerging indie rock group Emergency Break took to headlining the historic Old Blue Last in central London to celebrate their one year anniversary as a band, all in aid of the wonderful charity WarChild UK. Directed by Stanley Lane, they released a documentary of the experience this week, featuring energetic live clips and behind the scenes action, giving us an exclusive look at one of London’s most exciting young bands around right now.
Blasting through a headline set loaded with lively Britrock classics as well as some smashing original material, Emergency Break set the room alight from the get-go. Frontman Leo has such a natural stage presence, effortlessly hyping up the packed-out crowd with his antics and high energy vocals, and with the constant support from his equally vivacious bandmates, the young group smash through their set with the audience in the palm of their hand. Highlights for me include their chaotic Arctic Monkeys-esque debut single ‘IT’S OVER’ – which had the mosh pits well and truly alive – and their manic rendition of Blur’s ‘Song 2’.
Coupled with the chaos of the live footage, we’re given short insights into the behind the scenes of the show, including clips from soundcheck, interview clips with the band members and the general twatting about that Emergency Break are known for if you’ve ever been to one of their shows. Despite all that, the BTS footage actually gives us a look of how professional the young group really are, and how accustomed they’ve already become the pressure of performing headline shows to audiences of hundreds. It’s really impressive to see, and makes me excited to see where this level of professionalism will take them in the coming years of their developing career.
The documentary is a joy to watch as a whole, put together brilliantly by all the creatives involved. The combination of the chaotic live clips of the band doing what they do best, and the candid interview-style footage make for a brilliant insight into probably the most important show Emergency Break have played so far. I can’t wait to see them keep on growing and developing their talents, especially as they take on the enormous O2 Academy Islington this July.
