As far as mid-noughties indie rock goes, Ipso Facto aren’t necessarily a household name that has stuck around. What this has meant though is that Rosalie Cunningham has had the freedom to pursue other musical avenues, Purson being the current venture. A blend of theatre and drama greets the music proving to be the catalyst for a sensationally exciting performance. It seems that Purson are a band that you really ought to get to know if you don’t already.

The Hope and Ruin reached capacity quickly as the last few tickets available on the door were quickly snapped up and warming the stage for tonight’s performance were the local five-piece Brighton band, White Room, who were to make their return to Brighton following a lengthy stint around the South of England. A band that arguably drew as much of a crowd as Purson would do later on, they brought huge throwbacks to the 90s with their Brit-pop fuelled take on psychedelia that reverberated around the room. Distant, washed vocals from the front-man, Jake, who incorporated the Ian Brown styled bounce into his showmanship was reminiscent of the heady early 90s’ Madchester days. This notion was fuelled further with their mammoth choruses and twinkled guitars that drove songs forward. A great capture for the local scene and one that shows a lot of promise with their latest single, ‘Freaking Out’.

As White Room bowed out, Purson took to the stage bringing with them their fluorescent take on 70s psychedelia. Big hair, fuzzy moustaches and a plethora of colour took confidently into opening with their latest release and title track from the new album, ‘Desire’s Magic Theatre’ – a song that swarms to the carnival, psychedelia of The Doors’ Strange Days merging this with vivacious tinges of hair metal.

Experiencing Purson in a live setting in comparison to listening to the album alone enforces the songwriting that Cunningham and co put into the music; the audacious guitar work is showcased in a sanguine manner whilst the band set a real ambience and this is something that is rarely captured at live shows. It’s a real haze of psychedelia as band members grace closer to one another, swiftly moving elegantly through the dreamlike scenario. The whole movement of the band onstage ties in so perfectly with the music, it’s graceful and never too sudden, subtly drifting closer then retreating back. To take such ethereal concepts from the album and put them into a live setting is truly testament to the calibre of this band.

Material off the new album is showcased in the looming Hendrix sprung shadows of ‘Mr Howard’ and unsurprisingly, ‘Electric Landlady’. These two standout in particular in terms of what to expect from the sophomore effort available late April; both songs pack in tight grooves and tendencies to lean closer to the progressive-rock tree as opposed to psychedelia.

It’s not just a slight tumble down the rabbit hole but it’s a full blown trip and fall with Purson. You quickly find they don’t only take you down but they then sit down and pour you herbal tea round at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, constantly tempting you to delve further into their vaudeville psych. What really stands out is the involvement with how they approach you; they want you to feel entirely relevant and part of their music and it is this generosity that is really appreciated by audience members. The onstage charisma and glamour revolves around the airy mystique of Cunningham, the rest of the group pummel away keeping tempo and rhythm, guitarist George Hudson occasionally swinging around to swap riffs and lead lines with Cunningham. The showmanship of the group on the whole is second to none, they consistently prove to be a marvellous watch – the uncanny stare from Rosalie Cunningham which dashes across audience faces is haunting and alluring in every respect. It’s very hard to take your eyes off the carnival-infused beauty that her and the band brought to Brighton. Something that we would surely welcome back with open arms at some point in the future.
Tom Churchill