Voodoo and the Crypts have been impressing us for a while now, with excellent live shows across the city, and three excellent singles detailing their baggy outlook on indie-rock. Their show at Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, their biggest ever headline show, was just another step in the rise of the band and felt like a genuinely special occasion with an excellent line-up and a beautiful cover from the band.

First support on the night came from Lime. Hailing from Guildford, the band were incredibly impressive and fused the likes of Led Zeppelin’s raw sound with the 70s soft-rock of Eagles and Fleetwood Mac for an incredibly unique take on guitar music. A quartet with an exceptional amount of chemistry and on-stage charisma, this was an excellent showcase of the band and, playing to an already packed-out Sticky Mike’s, they relished the attention. Debut single ‘Anne’, in particular, is a real treat. Mixing spiky riffs, with a ferocious vocal from lead singer Chloe Howard, it’s a stuttering gem of a single.

Likewise, Brighton-based Moth were equally impressive. Riding a current wave of momentum, with excellent shows and the release of their debut single ‘Thirst’, the band look like they’re all set to take the next step up in their early careers. Mixing, “Indie-rock band with influences rooted in hip-hop, reggae and psychedelia”, ‘Thirst’, in particular, has a tropical sensibility. With a vibe that got the entire crowd moving along, Moth continued the night’s escalation into elation.

The night, already on a high from two excellent bands, belonged to Voodoo and the Crypts, however. Supremely confident, and with an intense swagger, the band are an exceptional live prospect. Latest single ‘She’s My Queen’ carries all the swaggering and baggy goodness of The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays but, with lyrics such as: “She’s my queen, if you know what I mean?” it’s difficult not to recall the prancing boldness of a certain Gallagher brother. It has to be said, too, that frontman Matt Mitchell balances the line between arrogance and confidence superbly.

Furthermore, earlier single ‘Off My Mind’ is another treat. A striding, swanky slice of indie rock and roll meets wavy psychedelia, it sounded absolutely huge in the confines of Sticky Mike’s basement and, at times, it looked and sounded as if the walls and the floors were about to crumble. The night was lifted considerably, however, when the band took on a cover of a Brighton legend. Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ was given the Voodoo and the Crypts treatment and it worked wonders. Both honouring the original and putting a riff-heavy layer of guitar over it, it was a quite brilliant cover and captivated the audience immensely, subsequently causing the biggest singalong of the night.

Both honouring the breeding ground the band were born in, and exhibiting just how far they’ve come, this was an excellent showcase of exactly what the band do well: captivate large audiences with their supremely confident throwback sound of baggy psychedelic and guitar-based goodness. It won’t be long before the band are tackling even bigger crowds in even bigger venues.

Liam McMillen

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