What a fantastic day – it all began with England beating Wales and it never really stopped until MarthaGunn finished their single launch performance at The Joker. You never really wanted it to end to be honest, it was a splendid example of how a young band within the city should handle themselves as they perch on the brink of something really special.

Poised to flourish at any moment, MarthaGunn have become the lethal weapon within Brighton’s competitive artillery of musicians. It is a talent that has been recognised by Jazz Life Records and Communion, the same label that has released the likes of Tigercub into the seismic world of music. The epic downpour that fell outside and lashed against the window clearly did nothing to discourage a willing crowd to come and see them – for once, I feel it is safe to say that the allure of free beer was not the only pull.

Penelope Isles opened the affairs on the night and for them too, punters seemed unperturbed by the weather that whipped around. Their sound was a refreshing take on woozy, surf-infused psychedelia; it built and cascaded around terrifyingly big choruses that hopped around squelchy, phased guitar and drops in volume every now and then. Dynamically, the group have a real aptitude and ability to put together impressive songs, the likes of ‘Gnarbone’ being stand out songs from the set and their ability to mesh pauses into their song structure allows for the torrents of volume to hit you with a mythical force.

Where they struggled was in the energy that they put into the performance, the music lingered on lethargy for many parts of the set and acted more as the sound to bring a night to a close rather than open affairs – their warming of the stage reached tepid before simmering a little longer. Admittedly the crowd felt a little less engaged seeming more preoccupied with discussing the current conversational cornerstone – the oke-coke EU referendum. This may have been due to the lack of volume coming through the vocals, however, it was something that would transcend throughout the entirety of the night seeming to be more of a venue challenge than down to the groups performing. When it struggled to become audible, the set felt strangled, nevertheless the songs that lay behind are certainly enough to become excited about. Penelope Isles toys with intensity and emotion like no other.

As coincidental takes on pathetic fallacy take a hold of affairs, the sun begins to break through the clouds for the surfacing of MarthaGunn upon the stage – with the title of their single being ‘Heaven’, there’s room for an awful pun here but I’ll leave that to your imagination. MarthaGunn have wisely gaged their target over the last couple of years and now it seems as if showing their progression through their vast amounts of working out, they have reached a confident and consistent platform for themselves. The music waltzed through an array of stomping guitar numbers as well as opening with a determined acapella number, ‘Oh Honey’. It felt clear that from killing the nerves at the start they were building to the reason that everyone was here in the first place.

Their single ‘Heaven’ fell close to the end of affairs and acted as the real counterpoint of the set, where some artists may feel lax within the execution, opting for glimmers of finger crossing improvisation, everything about ‘Heaven’ was purposeful and assertive. It sounded brash and found honesty with the recording. Sounding colossal within the intimate venue was exactly the building block MarthaGunn needed, this is a song though that when projected through a bigger stage is likely to be just as boisterous. With notions of Grace Slick’s work in the Jefferson Airplane bleeding through and obvious comparisons to the likes of Fleetwood Mac, they put forward a fresh take on a sound that has rarely been utilised within Brighton. Their persona when upon the stage is testament to how long they have been performing and seeing a band reach out and take their just desserts with both hands is exceptionally satisfying to see.

In similarity to Penelope Isles, where the set suffered was around the volume of the vocals. Particularly with the single ‘Heaven’, currently the only release from the group – the emphasis behind the vocals is the tipping point in the recording, the most obvious piece. Therefore to get that same effect live is a particular challenge, The Joker – it would suggest – can be quite the unforgiving villain in those affairs.

MarthaGunn seem to be breaking through their teething problems that may have previously obstructed them as group. Taking their time with proceedings has become their strongest asset and if anything, tonight suggests their next foot forward may be their firmest yet.
Tom Churchill
Photo by Tom Gladstone

Website: marthagunn.com
Facebook: facebook.com/MarthaGunnBand
Twitter:  twitter.com/MarthaGunn_