Live Reviews

Previews

Desperate Journalist
Bau Wow
Saturday 21st April
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Goat Girl
The Haunt
Saturday 21st April
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SPECTRUM All Day Festival
Brighton Dome
Saturday 21st April
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Queen Zee
The Prince Albert
Sunday 22nd April
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Album Reviews

Josh T. Pearson - The Straight Hits!

Abi Wade – Beautifully Astray

The Damned – Evil Spirits

A Place To Bury Strangers - Pinned

New Music Q&A

Shame

Read Interview

Demob Happy
Demob Happy - Interview - 2018

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Hinds

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Belle & Sebastian
Belle & Sebastian- Interview - 2018

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Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker – Komedia, Brighton – 11th April 2018
Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker – Komedia, Brighton – 11th April 2018 Tonight it is obvious that Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker are sick of being lumped in as 'folk'. However, when you are winners of the Best Duo category at the BBC2 Radio Folk Awards of 2015, perhaps you should just suck it up? Perhaps you should know what side your butter is spread on?
Demob Happy – The Haunt, Brighton – 14th April 2018
Demob Happy – The Haunt, Brighton – 14th April 2018 The dictionary definition for ‘demob happy’ is, “Feeling elated because one is about to leave a stressful or responsible job or situation.” So how perfect that Newcastle-via-Brighton rockers, Demob Happy, brought the Holy Doom tour to their adopted home city on a Saturday, the day that most are free to do whatever they like. Many people, wisely, chose to spend it celebrating and dancing to Demob Happy’s excellent and intense live show - a decision that I don’t think anyone from the sold-out audience would regret. It was...
Swimming Tapes – Green Door Store, Brighton – 13th April 2018
Swimming Tapes – Green Door Store, Brighton – 13th April 2018 “It’s good to be in Brighton - and it’s such a good line-up” Swimming Tapes stated during their headline set at Green Door Store. “I can’t remember the last time we played a gig with such a good line-up,” they continued. It’s testament to Hidden Herd, the online magazine who were putting on only their second Brighton gig, that they can gather bands such as Swimming Tapes, Thyla, Sad Palace and Nature TV for a fiver. It was an excellent collection of bands and an example that Hidden Herd could be the next best Brighton promoter, especially with another gig lined up next month at Sticky...
Public Service Broadcasting – Brighton Dome – 7th April 2018
Public Service Broadcasting – Brighton Dome – 7th April 2018 If ever a walk-on track could perfectly encapsulate what is to come, it is Public Service Broadcasting’s choice of the David Bowie classic ‘Sound And Vision’. On part of what is ostensibly an album tour for last year’s Every Valley, a musical history of the Welsh mining and coal industry, the show could almost be seen as a metaphor for the potential and ingenuity that mankind truly possesses when it puts its mind to it. Tonight, the London band took an awestruck audience on an evocative journey from the darkest mines to the brightest stars and back.
Sunflower Bean – Concorde 2, Brighton – 5th April 2018
Sunflower Bean – Concorde 2, Brighton – 5th April 2018 “We just wanted to thank you for making our record go into the Top 40. We’re an American band with no money, so it means a lot,” Julia Cummings said halfway through their Brighton gig, which only went further in cementing their place as one of the most exciting indie bands in the world right now. With two albums under their belt now, Sunflower Bean have become one of the most confident, diverse and exciting live bands of their generation, and their live show further showcases this, as well as revealing Julia Cummings as one of the best voices in modern rock.
Lebeaux – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton – 8th April 2018
Lebeaux – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton – 8th April 2018 It is clear that no one ever told Lebeaux that Sunday’s are usually the day of rest. Their single launch for ‘Gold Man (I’m Chemical)’ was an exceptionally raucous affair that totally brought the party down to The Hope & Ruin. The three-piece are an incredibly confident band and, crucially, there’s absolutely no one doing what they’re doing at the moment. They’re a real throwback to the world of 70s funk and soul, with a delightfully modern twist.
Cosmo Sheldrake – The Haunt – 4th April 2018
Cosmo Sheldrake – The Haunt, Brighton – 4th April 2018 As song introductions go, “This one was built on a sample taken from a cow carcass” is fairly unique. This is the world of Cosmo Sheldrake, though, a weird and wonderfully eccentric place for sure but also one that is entrancing and hypnotic. A night celebrating the release of The Much Much How How and I, it is a simple show built entirely around one man and his ability to craft magic from a vast collection of samples and a genius for finding beauty in the strangest of places.
A Certain Ratio – The Haunt, Brighton – 25th March 2018
A Certain Ratio – The Haunt, Brighton – 25th March 2018 Back in the late 70s, within the seismic-shifting environment of the Manchester music scene, there emerged a band as unique and futuristic as fellow Mancs Joy Division, and The Durutti Column, both of whom also ended up on Tony Wilson's Factory Records label. A Certain Ratio were an avante-garde post-punk proposition who more than anyone from that rarefied world, dealt primarily at the time with soundscapes, grooves and moods, with traditional song structure a secondary consideration.
Fruity Water – The Black Dove, Brighton – 30th March 2018
Fruity Water – The Black Dove, Brighton – 30th March 2018 You’ve got to hand it to Fruity Water. Not only have they released their album independently (through local micro-label Big Salad Records), but their Thirst Takes launch show carried the same DIY aesthetic. So much so, that while I was in the cosy confines of The Black Dove, nestled firmly in St James’ Street, I felt like I was gatecrashing a private party. There was a real personal vibe to the evening, as if everyone felt personally attached to the celebration. Nevertheless, Fruity Water’s performance, showcasing the album from start to finish, was sublime, truly exhibiting Adam Bell and Smalan Odgers’ sheer artistry as...
George FitzGerald – The Haunt, Brighton – 26th March 2018
George FitzGerald – The Haunt, Brighton – 26th March 2018 Mondays are a strange day for gigs. People are still groggy from the weekend, as well as being tired from their first day back at work, which usually creates quite a subdued atmosphere in an audience. It is to George FitzGerald’s testament, then, that he got The Haunt crowd moving and grooving to his electronic dance music like it was the early hours of the morning on a Saturday, subsequently forgetting that a certain Mr Cocker was playing an intimate, sold-out set just down the road at Patterns. FitzGerald’s Brighton show, the first night on the All That Must Bealbum tour, featured an immense amount of banging...
Rae Morris – Concorde 2, Brighton – 25th March 2018
Rae Morris – Concorde 2, Brighton – 25th March 2018 As fresh starts go, Someone Out Theremust be one of the most successful in recent years. Recorded during the heady early days of a new relationship, it is infectious in its joy and addictive in its pleasures. Largely ditching the piano-led ballads of her debut, Unguarded,it saw Rae Morris bounce onto the dance floor instead - and tonight was a perfect reflection of that new spirit. As her tour builds to a final sold-out show at Heaven, it was simply one of the happiest shows that Brighton has seen in a long time and it proved impossible not to get wrapped up in it.
Jarvis Cocker – Patterns, Brighton – 26th March 2018
Jarvis Cocker – Patterns, Brighton – 26th March 2018 How fitting that, in Easter week, a charismatic and frequently full-bearded man of the - forgive me (Father!) - ‘Common People’ should rock-up in town, staging his own resurrection. Emerging from the appropriately tomblike depths of the cavernous basement at Patterns and proving that there is, indeed, life after big-band death, this was the other ‘JC’ - Jarvis Cocker - pouring forth pearls of worldly wisdom that seemed to captivate everyone who had come to hear the man preach.
African Head Charge – Komedia, Brighton - 28th March 2018
African Head Charge – Komedia, Brighton – 28th March 2018 It was a cold, wet night and not really the weather to get you into the African mood but, as I arrived at the Komedia, the warm-up DJ was spinning out some fine tunes. The venue quickly filled up with people and the intoxicating grooves got people dancing or swaying to the music. So by the time African Head Charge took to the stage the place was rammed and everyone was nicely warmed up. The band got the night rolling with an instrumental track before the charismatic singer Bonjo Iyabhinghi Noah joined them onstage and the party really began as they launched into ‘Off The Beaten Track’ swiftly followed by the...
Scuffle – The Quadrant, Brighton – 23rd March 2018
Scuffle – The Quadrant, Brighton – 23rd March 2018 How old I felt as I walked up the narrow stairs of The Quadrant pub, where I'm greeted by the pair collecting tickets on the door playing the game Buckaroo and the question, "What's your favourite emoji?" Drawing a blank I stupidly reply “The poo”, and before I could rethink my answer my arm was being tagged and I had been given an unwanted conversation starter on a Friday night still in its infancy. These added theatrics all give hints to what kind of band the headliner is – a band that aren't happy to settle for the norm, a band that are driven to stand out in a congested crowd.
Sick Joy – Green Door Store, Brighton – 23rd March 2018
Sick Joy – Green Door Store, Brighton – 23rd March 2018 Following the release of their debut EP, Amateurs, Sick Joy are one local Brighton band who are continuously proving that they’re next in line to make it big. Securing themselves a sell out support slot earlier in the week with Feeder’s Brixton date, the boys are back with their largest headline show yet. I promise you now, this show was a phenomenal evening of classic grunge that has more than proven why you need to have Sick Joy in your playlists.
Spinning Coin – Rialto Theatre, Brighton – 21st March 2018
Spinning Coin – Rialto Theatre, Brighton – 21st March 2018 Glasgow has a rich musical history, particularly within the indie-pop world where a series of seminal bands dominated the pages of the NME throughout the 80s and 90s. Spinning Coin are but the latest in that long line, though they are far more than a homage to their geographical ancestors as their debut, Permo,proved last year. After a successful spot at last year’s The Great Escape, they returned to Brighton once more at the Rialto Theatre with support from one of the most electric Brighton bands out there.
OUTLYA – Green Door Store, Brighton – 22nd March 2018
OUTLYA – Green Door Store, Brighton – 22nd March 2018 Interestingly, the first time I saw Will Bloomfield’s previous band, Port Isla, was at the Green Door Store at The Great Escape in 2015. At the time they were nervous, mawkish and certainly lacking in confidence, both as a band and musically. Now, however, is a completely different story, as OUTLYA have nailed that power pop formula. So much so, that they’re so chart ready you can almost hear the middle aged men complaining about hearing them on the radio all the time. There’s something of the arena-sized pop bands such as Maroon 5, Imagine Dragons and Bastille with their whirling, whimsical take on euphoric pop, and it...
Fickle Friends – Concorde 2, Brighton – 19th March 2018
Fickle Friends – Concorde 2, Brighton – 19th March 2018 Tonight was vindication for all those struggles, all those early shows where hardly anyone came and all the tireless hard work that Brighton’s very own Fickle Friends have put in. They may seem to be suddenly everywhere, but it has been a long road to now. With a debut album now in the bag (earning universally positive reviews) as well as their very first sell-out show at Concorde 2, it was all a far cry from their performance at The Haunt in front of a handful of people a few years back. Tonight was a victory parade, a joyous stopover at home which became as much of a party for the band as it did the crowd. In short,...
Yes – Brighton Centre – 21st March 2018
Yes – Brighton Centre – 21st March 2018 A truly iconic name across the globe, Yes are a fundamental pillar in the creation of all forms of modern rock. With quite the career behind them, tonight Yes bless this Brighton crowd with a celebration of 50 years of the band’s incredible legacy, arming themselves with a throwback sound which emphasises the very essence of what it means to be a modern musician.
Gwenno – Rialto Theatre – 16th March 2018
Gwenno – Rialto Theatre – 16th March 2018 Once upon a time in Brighton there was a make believe band called The Pipettes. There were three of them, and they all wore polka dots, did some pleasing choreographed dance routines, and attempted to recreate a 60s girl group aesthetic but with a modern twist. To some extent it was an experiment in manufactured pop (masterminded by one Monster Bobby), that resulted in a couple of albums and even a hit, in the form of ‘Pull Shapes’. They were much fun to watch, and their songs were strong on classic pop melodicism and structure.