Jade's Music Blog

No, it’s not Arctic Monkeys, but Milburn, the originals on the South Yorkshire indie scene, and the guys who some say inspired Alex Turner et al to think about starting up a band.
Milburn started out as 14-year-olds playing small gigs in front of friends in local pubs and youth clubs.
And so it continued, with occasional forays further afield, including a spot at the Cavern in 2002.
Then, suddenly, they made the best decision of their young careers and signed up to support their mates Arctic Monkeys, which just happened to be at the time their I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. NME immediately took interest, including them under the banner of New Yorkshire.
Zane Lowe named them as his Fresh Meat of 2005 and last year they were snapped up by Mercury Records.
Beneath the obvious influences - the Jam, the Specials, Razorlight and The Libertines. - Milburn have a winning maturity. “You feel so special, you feel so bold and I fall, I fall to the floor,” teenage frontman Joe Carnall sings in What You Could Have Won. “And all I wanted was a kiss, all I wanted was a chance.” The band’s rawness makes the scuffles of Send in the Boys ring true, while they are soft but never sloppy on the lilting goodbye kiss of Last Bus.
It's taken them a while to get here, but Milburn look and sound like the real deal. They’ve also got a loyal following of teenage die-hard fans - at their Wigan gig this month they had to stop before the floor gave way, so great was the jumping.
If this, and their recent form, is anything to go by, the Barfly had better get their floor reinforced. Milburn are playing the loft, and it seems they’re planning on bringing the house down.
Milburn play Barfly tonight, www.myspace.com/milburnmusic.