For all the lonely hearts that were stuck around on Valentine’s night with nothing to do, there was a stir going on down at The Prince Albert. Hull’s finest export, The Black Delta Movement were bringing their neo-psychedelic garage rock down to these southern shores at a blistering pace, turning all those Valentine’s blues into the loudest lonely hearts club ever.

The Black Delta Movement erupted onto the Hull music scene back in 2010 when they bravely made their first steps onto the music scene by playing at Hull’s Freedom Festival alongside the likes of Foals. From here they embedded themselves into the music scene and were beginning to gain national and international recognition. They have now released four EPs and a handful of singles, each demonstrating where the band was at musically at any given time, building their artillery of songs whilst also demonstrating their versatility as a band. Their sound stretches from the blues rock of their debut EP, God In Exile, to The Black Angels-esque psychedelia of Lavender House, this is a band that erupts into you, tearing flesh from your face leaving not too much more behind. So how were they to fair in Brighton on their third visit to the city and their debut headline slot down here? Well, I was sure excited to find out.

The set spanned everything from new material to some of their older songs, a set that was brimming with confidence and exploding sounds. Now the group has expanded from a four piece to incorporate the new additional drummer, Joe Gray, the sound is even more abrasive and downright loud. The new track ‘Southlands’ opened the set with its monumental guitar sound and pounding drums, frontman Matt Burr took no time whatsoever in finding his groove, demonstrating the fact that he has confidently been stepping into the roll for some time. The power house of the rhythm section consisting of Liam Kerman, Joe Gray and Jacob Tillison provides the perfect platform for the guitars and vocals to dance upon. There is real strength in this music when it utilises such a dynamic, it is so fantastically loud lending to comparisons to The Jesus and Mary Chain et al; it stuns you whilst being captivating at all times.

Returning three tracks in to ‘MacBeth’, which sits comfortably at the back end of 2014’s Ghost Dance, Matt and guitarist Dominic Abbott play on the off beat in a jerking fashion, playing on the likes of Thee Oh Sees creating a driving, fractured movement. It is a song that riles the crowd leaving young chaps throwing themselves around at the front of the crowd beaming up in awe at this garage rock sound, crushing bodies together. This begins to set the tempo for the rest of the evening as the sound grows and the five piece demonstrate why they are perhaps one of the best new live bands on the circuit. There is a confidence that is omitted from The Black Delta Movement that lets you really and truly believe in them. The next three tracks fall perfectly into this garage rock’n’roll trend, ‘King Mosquito’ erupts into its 100mph tempo, borrowing from the likes of the Ty Segall Band and King Tuff – Dominic’s guitar swoons frantically over the top as the rest of the band shimmy and shake beneath like some rabid water snake. ‘Seven Circles’ slows it down slightly, acting more as a simmer than the blazing heat that you were previously accustomed to. ‘Hot Coals’ however brings you crashing down, in a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club fashion hook and groove that lingers and swills below whilst loud, vast choruses that can stretch across deserts and mountains utilise the lungs of Matt and Dominic.

The next three tracks utilise the fantastic back catalogue that The Black Delta Movement have lined up for themselves over the past five years. We are teased into ‘Rome’, a track that sits tightly on their début EP and pulls on the bluesy guitar patterns with it’s pummelling, raucous sound. ‘Ivory Shakes’ demonstrates the sincere volume that this band can demonstrate, pointing fingers at the likes of Ride with its heavier than hell rhythm section and swirling guitar patterns. Finally The Prince Albert falls at the mercy of ‘Butterfly’, a song that dances slowly below big guitar riffs and is a true throwback to 1960s psychedelia in the style of The Doors or Cream. Within ‘Butterfly’, we are treated to references of influence which is a touching bit of sentimentality for a band that disguise their influences within their songs with great concealment. Weller’s ‘I Walk On Gilded Splinters’, The Doors’ ‘The End’ and The Black Angels’ ‘Don’t Play With Guns’ all step forward and take a slight nod within this extended performance.

What The Black Delta Movement showed is the growing potential and standard that new bands now have across the nation. The Black Delta Movement are band that over their five year existence have increasingly grown in confidence and notoriety for being one of the most captivating live bands in the country. With a new EP scheduled for release later this year, you should all be very excited to hear more from them whilst keeping your eyes peeled for future live dates in the city.
Tom Churchill

Website: theblackdeltamovement.co.uk
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