Formed by frontman/guitarist James Taylor and bassist/singer Chloe Little, the INHEAVEN songwriting pair was later joined by the rhythm section and soon had a lucky break in 2015 when their demos were discovered by The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas at Cult Records. The label soon released their first single later that year. The four-piece have since perfected their 90s-infused sound and hit Brighton for their first ever tour to support the release of their debut record.

Pedalling 90s grunge but spat out for a 21st century audience, they have been a ‘buzz band’ since their incarnation and this was reflected in the young crowd present at The Haunt, who were eager to get up close to their new idols. Whilst there are the obvious shoegaze influences on record, their live show features more of an aggressive rock and euphoric dream-pop vibe, with their catchy choruses all gaining importance and taking on more of a prominent role in a gig setting.

First up though were alt-rock/indie quartet Bloxx who also carried elements of grunge and melody. The front woman’s voice really suits the style of music with its assertive punch. Aiming for a similar demographic to INHEAVEN, they gained a big reaction and would have won over some new fans.

King Nun’s abrasive, ear-shattering sound also graced the stage on Wednesday. The four-piece recently signed to Dirty Hit Records, home to the likes of Wolf Alice and The 1975, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they made similar waves. Especially with track such as ‘Tulip’, which was noisy, gobby and joyous in equal measure and got the crowd’s heads swaying in subconscious appreciation.

Unsurprisingly though, INHEAVEN were the undoubted highlight of the night. Now truly comfortable with the crowd knowing the majority of their songs following the album release, they carried more of a swagger compared to when I last saw them at the Green Door Store at the 2016 Great Escape festival.

The punky ‘Baby’s Alright’s prominent bassline led to initial cheers, which morphed into mosh pits, with the same evolution occurring for former single ‘Treats’; the most grungy and adventurous track of theirs. “I want someone to treat me right,” the crowd screamed back to the band. Meanwhile, ‘All There Is’ brought some relative calm to proceedings before ‘Drift’ demonstrated they’ll be playing much bigger venues soon enough. ‘Vultures’, though, is a far more temperamental creature and comes across brilliantly in a live environment.

The militaristic core and propulsive framework of ‘Bitter Town’ and epic Suede-like chorus about suburban angst drew the biggest reaction of the night before that title was stolen by ‘Regeneration’, with its festival-ready hook in what is an untamed blast of rock‘n’roll. It capped off a joyous night in which each riff was meticulously created and pulled off, whilst still allowing the songs themselves to surge and become a different beast in a live setting.

Paul Hill

Website: inheaven.co
Facebook: facebook.com/inheavenband
Twitter: twitter.com/inheaven