After one of the hottest day of the year so far, some would consider going to The Haunt, with its obsidian walls and liberal use of fans, a stupid idea as we should all bask in the sun before ‘summer’ is over. I, on the other hand, think that being in The Haunt is the only place to be on such a night! The occasion for this dilemma was that local folkies Common Tongues were having a launch for their debut album Divisions and the line-up was too good to pass up.

Night House got things started with their Aqualung-esque cover of Radiohead’s ‘Idioteque’. Their set was full of double bass, keyboards and drum machines. However, frontman Nick Williams’ vocal was the real star of the show. When he played an acoustic guitar the quality of Night House shone due to the stripped back nature of their performance. There was no place to hide any issues or mistakes. Near the end of their set Ellie Ford joined Williams for a touching duet. Let’s hope that this isn’t a one-off performance, as their combination is too good to be a one-off.

The majority of Ellie Ford’s sounds are like ethereal Bond themes that don’t exist. As she sings you can imagine a title sequence filled with gun sights, smoke rising from ashtrays, poker chips and glasses of Martini. Everything she does has an element of epicness to it that in another pair of hands would feel ridiculous, or pompous, but thanks to her delicate harp finger picking and an ear for melody, everything gels together and sounds amazing.

After a very short interval, and some slight confusion, Michael Baker took to the stage. The confusion arose from Common Tongues walking on stage, but this was cleared up after it was announced they were his backing band. Baker writes bro-folk that contains post-rock leanings and singalong choruses. His set started strongly, ended strongly but the middle just felt flat. Whether it was the size of the venues, his nerves or the sound, but his set didn’t quite work. In hindsight however, Baker has something and if these songs were remixed they’d be awesome.

Common Tongues retook to the stage to deliver a set totally filled with songs from their debut album Divisions. The album is full of songs about love, loss and redemption. But the main event if the music itself, as intricate harmonies and dextrous guitar playing mean that the structures were almost masterclasses in composition. But overall it all didn’t quite click. The band appear to be in flux, as they are slowly casting off their folk roots and experimenting with sound and rhythm. At times they sounded like a poppier Dry the River. Common Tongues are almost there and I have no doubt they will fill in the missing gaps on their next recordings but, as I walked out of The Haunt, I was struck with pangs of regret. Regret that they didn’t quite nail it. Regret that they played their hearts out, but came up a little short. Regret that Night House weren’t higher on the bill.

This evening showed that Brighton’s music scene is as diverse and vibrant as ever. For every Merlin Tonto, Post-Heather, Method Actress and Ciderdogs there is a Night House, Ellie Ford, Michael Bacon and Common Tongues. The only real complaint of the night was that the last two acts almost sounded like carbon copies of each other, whereas the opening acts were distinctive and refreshing because of this.  I feel like Baker should have opened, then the other two, ending with Common Tongues. That way the night would have been bookended by Common Tongues and things would have come full circle by the end, making for a more cohesive evening. But, while all the music might not have been what I wanted this evening, it’s comforting to know that when I want to listen to something relaxing and stripped down I’ll know where to find it. 
Nick Roseblade

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