Goodbye / Meat single launch at Bella Union Shop

Posted on 04/12/2025 by brightonmusicblog

Goodbye‘s debut single feels like it’s been a long time coming – At their first gigs back in Summer 2024 they already felt like a band who had been around for a while. They had songs, they had stage presence, they had a fully formed sound that takes some bands years to establish. I guess what they didn’t have at that point was a reputation, so they’ve been working hard since then and the time is finally right for them to share their first release. Meat has been a staple of their live sets for as long as I remember and appeared on the live cassette that came out back in March as a way of getting some music out into the world before a proper release. The band’s PR calls it dreampop, but there’s definite 80s / 90s indie sound to their guitars (I’m sure I heard someone that they’re named after a song by The Sundays but I can’t find anything online to support that, so don’t quote me on that).

In lead vocalist Megan Wheeler’s own words: “‘Meat’” sort of touches on the idea that some men see women as lustful objects rather than human beings, ogling them as meat. Sometimes you catch a stranger’s eye and they look right through you, as though they are stripping you of everything you are, your personality, skills, talent reduced to just meat. In my experience the majority of women I know have felt this in some form so I kept the lyrics deliberately vague and open to interpretation.”

Last night the band played a launch at the new Bella Union Shop, supported by Atticomatic. The room was packed so I’m glad I got down early for a good view to have the night captured for posterity.

Meat by Goodbye is out now

George Bloomfield / Now & Then album launch

Posted on 14/11/2025 by brightonmusicblog

On Tuesday night, George Bloomfield launched his new album Now & Then at Alphabet with a full eight piece band, supported by Soft Top (who also had a cast of thousands on stage). George and his band played the album roughly in order, with a few non-album tracks tucked in the middle. In lieu of an encore the closed with Space Between which came out a couple of years ago.

We were down the front with our camera to catch the action (click through to view large):

Mutations Festival 2025

Posted on 09/11/2025 by brightonmusicblog

This weekend was Mutations Festival, and Saturday night’s headliner was local heroes Lambrini Girls. Overall though Brighton felt a bit under represented, with less than 10% given over to local bands. On Friday, you couldn’t have watched both Fickle Friends and Ditz because they were in clashing slots (although they are very different bands). On Saturday Ladylike opened up proceedings at Chalk. Lemonsuckr proved to be so popular that I spent half their set stuck in the queue outside Dust and when I did get in they were struck down with technical difficulties. Because both of the timings of both of those sets, I didn’t manage to get to Alphabet for My Precious Bunny, although I heard good things afterwards, and Opus Kink were on way past my bedtime. Overall though, it was a great festival – they probably needed a few more small stages open in the afternoon before the bigger venues opened up, and the weather was very forgiving, the bill overall was diverse enough to not get boring. Here’s to next year (with hopefully a few more Brighton bands on the bill)

Van Zon / Glasshouse Red Spider Mite EP Launch double headliner at Alphabet

Posted on 05/06/2025 by brightonmusicblog

Around a month ago, Van Zon released their debut EP “All Things, All One Aglow“, and a couple of weeks later, Glasshouse Red Spider Mite released their EP “What Do You Mean The Monster?… Hahaha“, and last night the bands played a double headline launch gig at Alphabet, supported by London band Catbandcat. We went along with our camera to capture things for posterity:

(click through to view large)

Great Escape 2025 gallery

Posted on 04/06/2025 by brightonmusicblog

It feels like an age ago now, but I’ve finally got my photos band and edited from Great Escape weekend. I did my best to try and see a lot of Brighton bands at both official and unoffial gigs – in the end I caught multiple sets from a few bands from some of my favourites, because why not? Anyway, here’s one photo from each set by a Brighton band I went to where I could get close enough to the front, and where the light was good enough to shoot on film (on which note, please could someone have a word with Pink Moon and ask them to buy some lights?)

(click to view large)

Wednesday
goodbye / Green Door Store
Big Long Sun / Green Door Store
Big Long Sun/ Pipeline
Hutch / Green Door Store
ELLiS·D / Green Door Store

Thursday
Opal Mag / Unbarred
Trip Westerns / Bella Union Shop
The New Eves / Pipeline
George Bloomfield / One Church
Van Zon / One Church

Friday
Ladylike / TGE Beach – The Jetty
Coco & The Lost / Molly Malones
Jock / Queens Hotel
Ideal Living / Horatios
Hutch / St Nicholas Church

Saturday
ladylike / Horatios
Ruunes / Jules Emporium
Hutch / Molly Malones
Rose io / Manchester Street Arts Club
Van Zon / Folklore Rooms
Big Long Sun / Prince Albert
Hutch / Folklore Rooms
Trip Westerns / St Nicholas Church
goodbye / Prince Albert

Maximilian / Long Time Gone single launch at Green Door Store

Posted on 22/05/2025 by brightonmusicblog

Earlier this week, Maximilian released his new single Long Time Gone on Crafting Room Records, and we were invited down to his launch gig at the Green Door Store. Accompanied by a full band (although one not quite as expansive as at the launch of his album Surrender last year) they dropped the new single towards the end of the set, starting off acoustic and building up textures from different members of the band as the song goes on. Having not played at last weekend’s Great Escape Festival or any of the associated unofficial gigs (as far as we could tell, at least), It was good to see him back on stage again.

Support at the gig came from Cordelia Gartside and Big Hands And All Gristly.

Penelope Trappes at Alphabet

Posted on 04/05/2025 by brightonmusicblog

On Thursday, Penelope Trappes played a hometown gig at Alphabet, concluding the tour of her latest release A Requiem. The album is a powerful work, perfectly encapsulating the grief that overshadows it’s ten tracks. For the live performance Penelope was joined Klara Schumann on cello and Kat Pihl on keyboards to recreate the imposing visceral sound of the recordings, and Alphabet was probably the best venue in town to do justice to this. There was a strong visual dimension too, with lighting designed by Agnes Haus (which at some points was nothing more than just a handheld industrial lamp) and headwear inspired by the organic form of branches of a tree. The arpeggiated synth lines of one of the albums more electronic moments, Red Dove, provides some light towards the end of the performance, and the night closes serenely with Thou Art Mortal, the last track on the album, with waves of sound washing over us to send us on our way.

Support on the evening came from Zac Clowes and Jonah Wardle, who played and continuous thirty minute cinematic ambient set

A Requiem by Penelope Trappes is out now on One Little Indie:

Hope & Ruin Tenth Birthday, headlined by The Four Horsemen (or was it Lime Garden?)

Posted on 15/02/2025 by brightonmusicblog

Happy Birthday Hope & Ruin! The venue in it’s current form opened it’s doors for the first time ten years ago this week, and the birthday celebrations kicked off last night with a free gig fronted by the mysteriously named Four Horsemen. A few crumbs had been dished out on social media that the previously unheard of band was actually local heroes Lime Garden, who’ve had their heads down recently working on new material. Their set was a first airing for some of these tracks as well as some old favourites, and – since it was valentines day – a cover of Careless Whisper where they were joined by Alfie Beer (from goodbye, formerly in Fliptop Head) on trombone. They were ably supported by Ladylike and Harper for a packed out show at the venue which has more than established itself as a corner of the local scene. The fun continues tonight with another free gig featuring How Long You Been Driving, Wimp, Francis Pig and That Band Called Susan.

Memorials / Memorial Waterslides album launch tour at Alphabet

Posted on 25/10/2024 by brightonmusicblog

Earlier this month Memorials released their debut album Memorial Waterslides on Fire Records (last year’s Music for Film didn’t count as a debut because it was soundtracks, apparently). The duo have just completed a UK tour to support the release, starting in Scotland a couple of weeks ago and culminating in a hometown gig at Alphabet last night, supported by Emma Gattrill. A personal highlight for us was the extended version of the album’s centrepiece Memorial Waterslide II (if you’re wondering about part one, that was released on their Centre Pompidou EP earlier this year), which brought to mind some of Stereolab’s extended psychedelic tracks – indeed both bands share a manager and Laetitia Sadier was spotted in the audience at the gig (Graham Sowerby from AK/DK – playing at Alphabet next week – and David Best from Fujiya & Miyagi were also in attendance). The gig ended early without an encore which gave me the time to enjoy a drink at Alphabet’s gorgeous new bar downstairs, which feels like a sophisticated secret drinking den and might well be Brighton’s best kept secret.

Memorial Waterslides is out now at record shops, streaming sites and at bandcamp:

Dome Studio Live – Holiday Ghosts / Currls / Room Service

Posted on 20/10/2024 by brightonmusicblog

Back when we first started the blog, Dome Studio Live gigs were a regular fixture. Initially the nights had started as a collaboration with Juice FM, before they split away and started their own new music nights. The Dome then partnered with The Source Magazine until they changed from being a print magazine to online only. After that the Dome put the nights on themselves and branded them as Spectrum. Then in 2017 the Dome Studio Theatre closed, only reopening last year.

Over the years we saw the likes of AK/DK, Gazelle Twin, Traams, Physics House Band, The Miserable Rich, Jacko Hooper (who still plays as well as running the Folklore Rooms), Jennifer Left (who’s gone on to become landlady at the Hand in Hand) and many, many more at the Dome Studio nights.

Since reopening the new music nights have been run by Ned from QM Records / Normanton Street (who also used to feature on the blog in the early days), who have approached the project with a much wider vision than the pre-closure nights, as well as looking outside of the city borders for acts. Friday night’s Dome Studio Live though was a night of local guitar based acts – headlined by Holiday Ghosts, supported by Currls (with a brand new bassist) and Room Service (with strong fan base in attendance, judging by the tee shirts). It was great to be back.