On the first day of Green Door Stores’ annual Two Three Four Festival, a free event put on by the venue to showcase new bands, its undoubtedly the number three that rules the day. The last four, and best, acts of the evening are all three pieces offering widely different examples of what can be achieved with this stripped back line up.
Skinny Girl Diet is an effortlessly cool all-girl group playing gnarly bile fueled punk music. Channeling the spirit of Riot Grrrl without being a lazy homage, they present themselves to the audience with a cold detachment and remain fairly stationary throughout the performance. On one song lead singer Delilah offers up the jaded confession: “My heart is not in it”. Bassist Amelia, whilst appearing fairly unassuming, is capable of a genuinely terrifying high pitch scream that actually makes me jump at various points. It’s a slightly shambolic and rough around the edges performance but that’s entirely as it should be, totally unpolished and raw. They’re the real deal.
Up next is Yak, whose cacophonic psyche rock feels like one long jam. Songs seem to roll into one another, propelled but bludgeoning walking bass lines whilst all chaos breaks loose around them. Lead singer and guitarist Oli Burslem seems like a genuine star in the making, in the unhinged and unpredictable model. He dangles from the ceiling at one point whilst attempting to play his synthesizer with his toes. Later on he disappears off stage in the middle of a song to change from his bomber jacket into a blowy white shirt. “We only have 20 more songs left!” he cries out at one point before diving into the crowd, making a jab at meeker bands timid attempts at crowd interaction. The band spews a confidence that comes from the fact they are as much aware of how good they are as you are.
Our man Theo Verney is on next to do his thing but my mind is still reeling a bit from how much of a mind-melter Yak was that its kind of hard to take in. It’s still a solid performance however and the crowd seems thoroughly satisfied.
Last minute addition Traams are a worthy headliner for the evening, being a fully-fledged Brighton success story. Their angular Krautrock riffs are as capable of inflicting damage as they are on record. We get a taster of what’s in store for their next album Modern Dancing, including their most recent single ‘Succulent Thunder Anthem’. It has an almost straightforward blues riff but with a weird post-punk edge, as if Chuck Berry had listened to This Heat. But somehow it works and shows there’s still interesting directions for the band to take their sound in. Two Three Four seems well on its way to becoming much like The Great Escape, having been unofficially described as the light version of a hub where you can get excited and hopeful about how much great new music that’s still out there being made.
Louis Ormesher
Sunday
After the success of Saturday, I had very high hopes for Sunday’s music. The day started for me with Fake Laughs, the fifth band to play that day, and a perfect way to ease myself into the gig after a heavy night. The band were a popular name on everyone’s lips, and it is easy to see why. Their dreamy indie pop songs are beautiful and float around effortlessly, picking up the crowd and making them bounce to the beat. Lovely vocals and mellow guitars create an infectious upbeat affair that left the audience wanting more. Birdskulls seemed to be the bands band, getting countless mentions throughout the day. The Brighton outfit took the atmosphere to the next level, bringing their alternative punky grunge sound. The trio played a bone shuddering set (in the best possible way) and introduced me to my new favourite track, ‘Ghost World’, which will also appear on their forthcoming LP Trickle (out 05/10/2015).
Next was Bruising, a two girl and two boy pop rock group. The female lead singer’s soft gentle lyrics reigned supreme on top of the bands captivating garage rock riffs. The crowd’s brilliant reaction said it all – nodding and swaying to the fuzzed up melodies. If you are lucky enough to have a ticket to the sold 
out Los Campesinos! gig coming up, you can experience their infectious sound for yourself. We are big fans of Oscar’s talent at BrightonsFinest (check out the interview we did with him recently) and it was obvious we weren’t the only ones. His sound doesn’t really fit a genre but effortlessly drifts across electro pop thru doo-wop and into indie rock, full of sugary melodies and simple accessible beats. The rich tone in songs like ‘Beautiful Word’ and ‘Daffodil Days’ along with Oscar’s great lyrics make for a joyous and pleasantly sweet mixture of some of the finest pop around.
Not having slept for over 24 hours didn’t affect Nai Harvest’s performance in the slightest. The two piece create a near unbelievable sound that wouldn’t be amiss as a five piece. They started with their most well known song (a result of its endless radio play) ‘Sick On My Heart’, a bold move perhaps but there is no doubt that there are a lot more songs which are just as good. The fast paced “slacker punk” grabbed the audience by the throat and if you didn’t submit, you were left behind on their enthralling ride. Only taking time to breathe and to natter to the audience a couple of times, the bands non-stop set had everyone sweating – crowd surfing, fist pumping and mosh pits made
their exciting performance fly past in an instant. Catch the Sheffield duo supporting Girlpool in a couple of weeks, you will definitely not be disappointed. Sunday night’s headliner and the ones taking the 234 Festival to its close were Tall Ships. There was a definite buzz of anticipation around the now capacity room, eagerly waiting to see what the Brighton experimental rock band would bring. Punchy ballistic drums and gentle patterns of beckoning guitars melodies built into dramatic airy climaxes, making for a heady mixture of Foals-esque pop songs with Nordic Giants cinematic atmosphere. Personally I felt their sound was a little against the grain of the bands that had played previously, being a bit too predictable, but what is my opinion against a room full of captivated individuals categorically expressing their adulation for Tall Ships.
Iain Lauder
Photos: Tom Barlow Brown.