Brighton Music Blog 25 for 25 : 10 – 6

Posted on 19/12/2025 by brightonmusicblog

We’ve reached the Top Ten in our countdown, and today we’ve numbers ten through to six:

10. Rose Io / Autumn Automaton (from Autumn Automaton LP)
Rose Io isn’t really like anyone else on our list. Most bands out there aren’t sitting down and writing songs about robots or wizards or death that sound like nursery rhymes or lost folk songs. Despite this, Rose’s album Autumn Automaton was one of our favourites this year, unashamedly weird and uncompromising in its vision

9. Opal Mag / Wasting (single)
Opal Mag has released a number of singles in 2025, each building on the last. Her live sets have brought to the fore how much she’s developed, not just in terms of being a front person in her band, but also in the material yet to be released and the breadth of styles that now covers. With a fair wind and a bit of luck 2026 could just be her year

8. Hutch / Rustle (single)
Just the one single from Hutch this year, although there is an album in the pipeline (they played a fundraiser for it in October). There’s been plenty of gigs and plenty of side projects going on too so as they don’t lose their spot as one of Brighton’s most loved bands, packing them in in December with slots at Flip Top Head’s Rolling Sixes night, Mumfest, Folklore Room’s Christmas Christmas Party, and from what I can see, multiple gigs on New Year’s eve

7. Trip Westerns / Showdown Shadow (from Post Hunk EP)
Trip Western’s Post Hunk EP was one of this year’s highlights, their first release since 2023’s eponymous EP. On paper Spaghetti Western themed surf psych could feel like a novelty, but Trip Western’s commitment to the cause – all the way down to Stetsons and facial hari – combined with fantastic songs and thrilling live performances – mean that they’re anything but

6. ELLiS·D / Homecoming Queen (from Spill EP)
One of the big music sites put Ellis D as their live act of the year, and I’m in firm agreement. 2025 has been the year when literally years of hard work have started to pay dividends. We included an early demo of Homecoming Queen on the blog all the way back in 2019 and since then it’s grown to become one of the highlights of their live sets – if you haven’t got a ticket for their gig at the Prince Albert on 5th Feb, then get on it, because it’ll sell out sooner rather than later

Brighton Music Blog 25 for 25 : 15-11

Posted on 18/12/2025 by brightonmusicblog

Day three of our twenty five for twenty five, counting down from fifteen to eleven. There is a video on youtube for the Lambrini Girls track, but because of the nature of it, it won’t embed

15 : White Magic for Lovers / The Boy from the Bookshop (from The Book of Lies album)

14 : Memorials / In the Weeds (single)

13 : Ideal Living / Come to Me (from Big House EP)

12 : Flip Top Head / What I Really Want to Know (from Trilateral Machine EP)

11 : Lambrini Girls / Cuntology 101 (Peaches remix) (single)

Brighton Music Blog 25 for 25 : 20-16

Posted on 17/12/2025 by brightonmusicblog

Following on from Yesterday’s post, here’s part two of our end of year top 25:

20 : George Bloomfield / Just don’t feel the same (from Now & Then album)

19: Projector / It Surely Has Been Hell (from Contempt album)

18: Helen Ganya / Share Your Care (from Show Your Care album)

17: Welly / It’s not like this in France (from Big in the Suburbs album)

16: Lemonsuckr / H.E.A.T. (single)

Brighton Music Blog 25 for 25 : 25-21

Posted on 16/12/2025 by brightonmusicblog

Somewhat later than I’d originally intended, the Brighton Music Blog 25 from 25 countdown starts now. The reasons for the delay aren’t completely our fault – two of our top five are releases which only came out in December, which meant re-jigging things to accommodate. So without any further ado, here’s numbers 25-21:

25 : Archie Sagers / Fistral (from Dreams along the Shore album)

24 : Cubzoa / Buckle Up (from Unfold in the Sky album)

23 : Maximilian / Long Time Gone (single)

22 : Radio Anorak / Cows and Chickens (from Rememberer album)

21 : Ditz / Taxi Man (from Never Exhale album)

Brighton Music Blog Top 20 2024 : 1 – Van Zon / Cannon Fodder

Posted on 20/12/2024 by brightonmusicblog

There’s been times this year when it’s felt like I’ve been their biggest cheerleader, but I won’t make any kind of apology for that because there’s nobody quite like Van Zon, who have successfully mixed up post rock, folk and a bit of neo-classical to come up with a genre all of their own. They were the first gig I saw in 2024, my most seen band this year, and they’re looking to be one of the first bands I see next year too. The highlight for me was October’s Hidden Herd gig where they showcased the songs that they were just about to record for their debut EP (due to be released sometime next year), all of which felt like a step up from the high bar that they had already displayed. If you haven’t listened to Cannon Fodder yet, settle down and strap in for an epic eight minutes.

1 : Van Zon / Cannon Fodder

2 : Flip Top Head / 1st July 2006
3 : Cate Ferris & Champion Fever / Blinkers
4 : Ideal Living / Roam
5 : MEMORIALS / Lamplighter
6 : Hutch / Ice on the Lake
7 : Lime Garden / Pop Star
8 : Thomas Ducout / Feminina
9 : Jamie Broughton / The Sound
10 : David Best / Terms & Conditions
11 : Welly / Shopping
12 : Ellis D / Shakedown
13 : Ladylike / Horse’s Mouth
14 : AK/DK / Nobody Shouts
15 : The New Eves / Astrolabe
16 : Projector / Tastes Like Sarah
17 : Penelope Trappes / Sleep
18 : Lambrini Girls / Big Dick Energy
19 : Holiday Ghosts / Sublime Disconnect
20 : Plantoid / Modulator

Brighton Music Blog Top 20 2024 : 2 – Flip Top Head / 1st July 2006

Posted on 19/12/2024 by brightonmusicblog

When I first heard 1st July 2006 it stopped me in my tracks – the combination of the non-standard time signature, Bertie’s spoken word segments which sometimes get overwhelmed by the rise and fall of the rich backing, alongside Bowie’s emotional vocals was a heady mix. It still moves me now – to cram so much into just four minutes is no mean feat.

2 : Flip Top Head / 1st July 2006

3 : Cate Ferris & Champion Fever / Blinkers
4 : Ideal Living / Roam
5 : MEMORIALS / Lamplighter
6 : Hutch / Ice on the Lake
7 : Lime Garden / Pop Star
8 : Thomas Ducout / Feminina
9 : Jamie Broughton / The Sound
10 : David Best / Terms & Conditions
11 : Welly / Shopping
12 : Ellis D / Shakedown
13 : Ladylike / Horse’s Mouth
14 : AK/DK / Nobody Shouts
15 : The New Eves / Astrolabe
16 : Projector / Tastes Like Sarah
17 : Penelope Trappes / Sleep
18 : Lambrini Girls / Big Dick Energy
19 : Holiday Ghosts / Sublime Disconnect
20 : Plantoid / Modulator

Brighton Music Blog Top 20 2024 : 3 – Cate Ferris & Champion Fever / Blinkers

Posted on 18/12/2024 by brightonmusicblog

About fifteen years ago I started taking my camera along to gigs – it could have been a fad but at the end of a gig at Latest Music Bar the support act asked if they could have a copy of my photos, which might just have been the spark of encouragement that has made me carry on for all this time. After her gig at the Rosehill in November this year Cate Ferris once again got in touch to ask for a copy of the photos from that night too. The first time I saw her live, it was just Cate and an acoustic guitar on stage, but as the years have rolled by she introduced looping pedals, samples and electronics. Back in 2009, Steve Baker was the guitarist in The Woo!Worths, and he has made the journey to music production over time putting out releases under the name Champion Fever. Somehow Blinkers is their very first collaboration – apparently Steve hadn’t even been to one of Cate’s gigs before this year – but what a banger it is.

3 : Cate Ferris & Champion Fever / Blinkers

4 : Ideal Living / Roam
5 : MEMORIALS / Lamplighter
6 : Hutch / Ice on the Lake
7 : Lime Garden / Pop Star
8 : Thomas Ducout / Feminina
9 : Jamie Broughton / The Sound
10 : David Best / Terms & Conditions
11 : Welly / Shopping
12 : Ellis D / Shakedown
13 : Ladylike / Horse’s Mouth
14 : AK/DK / Nobody Shouts
15 : The New Eves / Astrolabe
16 : Projector / Tastes Like Sarah
17 : Penelope Trappes / Sleep
18 : Lambrini Girls / Big Dick Energy
19 : Holiday Ghosts / Sublime Disconnect
20 : Plantoid / Modulator

Brighton Music Blog Top 20 2024 : 4 – Ideal Living / Roam

Posted on 17/12/2024 by brightonmusicblog

How to describe Ideal Living? In an interview they described themselves as PostSpook Knitwear Rock, but maybe they were taking the piss. They cite Tom Waits and Ennio Morricone as influences, but they remind me at times of the bits of Arab Strap I love where the intensity of the music is matched by lyrics that are unafraid to push boundaries. They take their name from Joy Division’s first release An Ideal For Living, and you can see that Billy Marsh’s role as front man is inspired by Ian Curtis. The rest of the band are a Who’s Who from some of Brighton’s other great upcoming groups, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens when one of these groups breaks through (and it will be when, not if).
Roam is a diatribe about how man has imposed himself on the countryside, inspired by the view from the top of the cliffs near the Marina looking down over Brighton, it’s closing refrain of hushed chants of “Concrete and plastic and silicon” electrifying the audience whenever I’ve seen it performed live.

4 : Ideal Living / Roam

5 : MEMORIALS / Lamplighter
6 : Hutch / Ice on the Lake
7 : Lime Garden / Pop Star
8 : Thomas Ducout / Feminina
9 : Jamie Broughton / The Sound
10 : David Best / Terms & Conditions
11 : Welly / Shopping
12 : Ellis D / Shakedown
13 : Ladylike / Horse’s Mouth
14 : AK/DK / Nobody Shouts
15 : The New Eves / Astrolabe
16 : Projector / Tastes Like Sarah
17 : Penelope Trappes / Sleep
18 : Lambrini Girls / Big Dick Energy
19 : Holiday Ghosts / Sublime Disconnect
20 : Plantoid / Modulator

Brighton Music Blog Top 20 2024 : 6 – Hutch / Ice on the Lake

Posted on 13/12/2024 by brightonmusicblog

With immaculate timing, Hutch put out the second single from their Smile & Wave EP in what felt like the coldest week of winter back in February, and since then they’ve had a hectic year of live dates, the peak of which was surely headlining Green Door Store’s 234 Festival in September. Their more recent gigs have started to include some new material, so hopefully we’ll see a new release from the band before long.

6 : Hutch / Ice on the Lake

7 : Lime Garden / Pop Star
8 : Thomas Ducout / Feminina
9 : Jamie Broughton / The Sound
10 : David Best / Terms & Conditions
11 : Welly / Shopping
12 : Ellis D / Shakedown
13 : Ladylike / Horse’s Mouth
14 : AK/DK / Nobody Shouts
15 : The New Eves / Astrolabe
16 : Projector / Tastes Like Sarah
17 : Penelope Trappes / Sleep
18 : Lambrini Girls / Big Dick Energy
19 : Holiday Ghosts / Sublime Disconnect
20 : Plantoid / Modulator

Brighton Music Blog Top 20 2024 : 8 – Thomas Ducout / Feminina

Posted on 11/12/2024 by brightonmusicblog

Back in the summer I got an Instagram recommendation for a page called Low Tide Heartbreak Club – a bunch of Brighton based surfers sharing their love for surfing culture not just through other people’s posts but their own creative efforts. There was an exhibition on at a gallery in the North Laine showcasing their art and photography, as well as the talents of producer and DJ Thomas Ducout. His mini-album Philosophie Du Surf was initially a cassette only release exclusively available at the gallery, which came out just in time to become the soundtrack to late summer days and nights, and is now thankfully on streaming services. I wouldn’t be so brave as to make a direct comparison, but the breezy sample based rolling hip hop beats aren’t a million miles away from the Avalanches. Tune in, turn on and drop out.

8: Thomas Ducout / Feminina

9: Jamie Broughton / The Sound
10: David Best / Terms & Conditions
11 : Welly / Shopping
12 : Ellis D / Shakedown
13 : Ladylike / Horse’s Mouth
14 : AK/DK / Nobody Shouts
15 : The New Eves / Astrolabe
16 : Projector / Tastes Like Sarah
17 : Penelope Trappes / Sleep
18 : Lambrini Girls / Big Dick Energy
19 : Holiday Ghosts / Sublime Disconnect
20 : Plantoid / Modulator