Category Archives: New Music

Brighton Rocks #40 : Billy Marsh / Ideal Living

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It’s been a little while since we made a post, and it’s been a long while since we made a Brighton Rocks post. And it’s actually been more than two months since I sat down with Ideal Living‘s Billy Marsh at the Fortune of War to kick start things again, but what with one thing and another here we are now timing things to coincide with Ideal Living’s two new singles Roam and OFD.

Back in April there was no imminent Ideal Living single that we were aware of, but the band had been working hard, touring with Flip Top Head earlier in the year, and at Homegrown festival. They had been due to play at the Great Escape, but were one of the first to pull out because of Barclay’s sponsorship and their links to arms companies supplying Israel. Never ones to waste an opportunity, they ended up playing around half a dozen unofficial gigs over the weekend. Outside of the band, Billy has been busy running Dead Dog, promoting gigs all over town as well as putting out the Hutch EP and the Maximilian album.

What I was struck by at the time was Billy’s passion for the local music scene – the aspiration not just for Ideal Living to do well, but all the other bands around too – and for his desire to do something about it too rather than just wanting things to go well, one eye on opportunities now, the other on the future

Onto the singles, both of which have featured in their recent live sets, if you’ve been lucky enough to catch them. OFD is a reflection on the breakdown of friendships, and has a hint of Tom Waits about it, until the rage erupts two thirds of the way through. Roam talks urbanisation and changing landscapes, and is what they’ve closed their sets with the last couple of times I’ve seen them – the acapella close still sends shivers down my spine

What’s the best thing about Brighton?
To many things but the sea is a pretty good part

Who are your favourite local bands?
Even harder but I guess The New Eves, Flip Top Head, Attic o mattic, Van Zon, Maximilian, Hutch, but yeah, so many

What’s the best venue?
My favourite is Green Door Store but have lovely memories in so many places

What’s the best rehearsal space / studio?
Brighton Electric is good

What’s the best club?
No idea like the I Hate Clubbing nights a lot

What’s the best record shop?
To many to choose form I reckon they’re all good

Where’s the best places to eat?
I really like fire and charcoal

What’s the best pub?
So many good ones but Hand in Hand is nice, I like playing Toads in there

Who’s your favourite Brighton celebrity?
Bertie beer

When was the last time you had any Brighton Rock?
When I was l like 8 years old. I don’t like the stuff but the book is good

OFD and Roam are out today, and the band headline the Hope and Ruin on 4th July

 

Van Zon / Cannon Fodder

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Our focus on New Releases has mainly switched over to our Instagram Stories these days, but we’re making an exception for a band who have seemed to appear from nowhere fully formed. We first caught them at the Albert last November, bottom of a bill which would have people queuing around the block for these days, alongside the New Eves and Fliptop Head. At that point Van Zon had only been going for a few months, but managed to leave a big impression.

A few months down the road, and they’re ready to release their debut effort Cannon Fodder. You could call it a single, but it clocks in just shy of eight minutes. It defies genres – Post rock weaves it all together, but the violin pulls it into folk territory, and the clarinet and 6/8 time signature sometimes nudge things toward neo-classical and further away from any sort of classification. Not wanting to just regurgitate their PR, I can’t disagree with line that says that it’s “Like a painting by a renaissance master”.

With an Instagram feed of less than a dozen posts, no Facebook, Twitter, or other social media, and very little else about the band anywhere online, I met up with them to try and demystify things. Van Zon tell me that they’re named after a Dutch serial killer, but that the name also means From The Sun in Dutch. Drummer Ewan is part Dutch too, something the rest of the band didn’t find out until they’d settled on a name. They tentatively describe themselves as experimental folk rock, but don’t feel like their sound can easily be slotted in alongside any pre-existing genre. Cannon Fodder was one of the first songs that they played live, and has evolved each time it’s been played out, only becoming it’s final version when it was recorded around a month ago. The rest of their unrecorded material continues to change each time it’s performed, with the band keen to continue to make them “even more epic”. They claim the lack of an online presence isn’t a deliberate attempt to be mysterious – that they don’t have the time, and that they aren’t great at social media. Yet, as we part ways they upload a post of an old painting, with nothing but the dictionary definition of Cannon Fodder in the description, and no hint that it might refer to their upcoming single. So much for not being mysterious. However, the phone signal isn’t great and there’s part-serious, part humourous concern that it’s going to upload multiple times. Maybe this approach to social media is the essence of Van Zon right now – embracing their contradictions and letting their subconscious lead the way, wherever that may take them, and things just turning out just right.

Van Zon are playing five alternative escape gigs next week:

15 May / Pipeline (10:30) – Brighton Noise Stage
16 May / Grand Central (6:45)
17 May / The Gladstone (5pm)- Slack City Stage
17 May / UnBarred Brewery – (9pm) – JOY stage
18 May / The Hope And Ruin (2:30) – Love Thy Neighbour Stage

Maximilian / Surrender album launch at Fabrica

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Last week Maximilian released his debut album Surrender, on Dead Dog records, and last night he played it live start to finish at Fabrica supported by Skydaddy and Brighton’s Opal Mag.

Playing an album all the way through in sequential order isn’t the most obvious thing to do – A set of songs which might make for a good gig can be quite different to a playlist / ordering that makes for a good album, but Maximilian created an immersive world last night aided and abetted by some of Brighton’s finest musicians that more than lived up to the challenge – intimate, and uplifting, the evening felt like it was over far too soon.

As I find myself saying for the second post in a row, if you missed the gig, Maximilian is on the bill at Homegrown Festival next weekend, so you can catch him again then.

 

Glasshouse Red Spider Mite / Erstwhile single launch at Green Door Store

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Last Friday Glasshouse Red Spider Mite played their first headline show, promoting their debut single Erstwhile, which came out on 20th March (which you’d have spotted if Instagram showed you our story on release day). Support came Van Zon, who we can’t get enough of these days, and out of towners Plainmoor. If you missed the gig and want to hear more from the band, you can catch them (and Van Zon) at Homegrown festival on Saturday 13th April

click through to view large:

 

 

Lime Garden play a sold out Chalk

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Hot on the heels of the release of their top twenty debut album One More Thing, Lime Garden closed their UK tour on Friday night with a sold out gig at Chalk. Support came from Ladylike (who are locals so also feature in the gallery below) and Ugly.

There was a shoutout to Chloe’s mum up in the balcony when they played Mother, quips about seeing the four coolest women on International Women’s Day, one of the friendliest mosh pits I’ve seen in a while, and, by all accounts, massive queues at the Green Door Store after they announced that’s where the afterparty would be.

(click through to view photos large)

Projector / Now When We Talk It’s Violence album launch at Green Door Store

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This week Brighton Music Blog favourites Projector hit the road to promote their new album Now When We Talk it’s Violence. There’s a whole bunch of other tour dates (go check their website), but obviously the only one that really matters is their hometown gig, which took place at Green Door Store last night. It was everything you’d hope for and more – the album played through larger and louder than you’d have heard it at home, a mosh pit, band members removing layers of clothing, a Pixies cover, and fantastic support sets from Ideal living and Vincent Vocoder Voice. Go stream the album (or better still, buy it) today

(click through the images to view large)

 

 

 

Lime Garden / One More Thing album launch instore at Resident

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Yesterday Lime Garden released their debut album One More Time. After a strong run of singles, of which only those released in the last twelve months feature on the record, and years of playing live honing their skills, they’ve come up with an accomplished collection of songs dealing with hope, humdrum and matters of the heart. Broadening their palette beyond guitar pop Floor and Pop Star casually toss in a bit of autotune, and Fears almost ditches guitars altogether save for a few riffs towards the end. The closing pair of tracks, It and Looking, strip things right back and remind us that it’s not parties every night. And then clocking in barely over half an hour it’s done, leaving us thirsting for more.

Promotion for the album kicked off last night with an in store at Resident (and an anecdote about how at a previous instore Chloe had asked Marika Hackman to sign a sanitary pad), followed by a launch party around the corner. A whole bunch of live dates are coming up including their biggest ever headline gig at Chalk on Friday 8th March, and no doubt a summer full of festivals

Plantoid / Terrapath

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Last Friday Plantoid released their debut album Terrapath on Bella Union records, which follows the singles Dog’s Life, Pressure and Modulator:

It’s influences are rooted in 1970s prog rock – album opener Is That You? clocks in at over six minutes and jumps time signatures – but there’s a lot more to the record than that. Stick with it, and by the time you reach the lilting highlight Wander/Wonder you’re transported to South America as a whole load of Latin influences slip seamlessly in. Elsewhere the album rocks hard, on GY Drift, and wraps you in gossamer, on album closer Softly Speaking.

The album was launched with a out-store gig at Alphabet, playing through each track in order from start to finish, joined onstage by album producer Nathan Ridley enthusiastically playing the bongos. Click through the pics to view large:

Terrapath is out now in all good record shops and streaming sites, or from the band’s bandcamp page:

Hutch – Ice on the Lake / Smile And Wave EP

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Today Hutch release their new single Ice on the Lake, taken from their forthcoming Smile & Wave EP, so we caught up with them at the Lord Nelson (just opposite The Radiator Centre) up to talk about the EP, the upcoming tour, and the buzz around Brighton bands at the moment.

Track One : The Bow
The bow was the first single from the EP, and came out last September. “It’s a song we had before we ever started gigging – there’s an early version of it up on Bandcamp – but we revisited it a couple of years later. We love long jams but we wanted to write some snappier songs. We started opening sets with it when we started doing tight 30 minute sets and playing gigs outside of Brighton – it’s got a lot of energy and in a room with people hanging out and chatting it’s a tune that can turn heads”

Track Two : Ice on the Lake
Was it a deliberate ploy to put Ice on the lake when it’s so cold out? “We’re so glad it worked out that way! The day that The Bow came out there was a Rainbow over Brighton that day, and you can’t write that kind of thing. So with this weather it’s perfect timing. Maybe when Marmalade Air gets released there’s going to be marmalade everywhere! We were actually supposed to release it last year but then we had some setbacks finishing the EP, and we wanted to release it in the wintertime.” It’s a track that has a few tempos – faster, then slower then faster again – “We had songs like Radiator Centre which also do a similar trick – this was a way of writing a long song that was a short song. I think it came off quite well”

Track Three : Marmalade Air
“This came together in a rehearsal session at Under The Bridge, and it was just an idea when we went in, and by the end of the rehearsal we came away with something we were pretty proud of. We played around a lot with recording it faster then slowing it down, so it feels like you’re stuck in a jar of marmalade.”
Track four : See It All
“This was originally written by Eva (Lunny – who’s now just a studio member of the band) so at the moment we won’t be able to play it live. We’re going to try and find a way to do it but we really wanted to put this one on the EP for her. Eva’s like our Spirit Guide. She came up with that song, and it seemed quite fitting at the end of the EP. It’s quite an emotional one.”
The EP was produced by Bobby Smiles, who’s an artist in his own right as well as a producer. “He’s amazing to work with – Some of us played in Tin Man so we worked with him on those recordings, and Charlie and Owen also play in Soft Top, and they worked with him too. He was on Our Family Dog a few years ago as well. He’s got around, but he’s also one of the nicest guys. He’s recording a lot of Brighton bands at the moment.” It feels like there’s a really strong Brighton Scene at the moment – you’ve mentioned bands you and Bobby Smiles are linked with, Flip Top Head are touring with Ideal Living, you go and see one band and the first three or four rows are full of members of other bands. It feels like the Brighton scene is the strongest it’s been in a long time. How does it feel from your perspective? “For us it feels like we’re just hanging out with mates. We’re really lucky, we started gigging just after lockdown and were ready to go once everything opened up again. We played gigs every three days for the first four months, but we weren’t the only ones – everyone had that energy and hunger to get out and about. You meet people and everyone becomes friends and then you’re all just doing it together. If they’re not playing in the bands, they’re working at the venues, at the bar or booking the shows. Also you play with loads of bands and everyone inspires each other, and that’s a beautiful thing. You go and see a band like Ideal living at Green Door before Christmas, and seeing those guys, you’re like Wow, there’s something really amazing going on. The competition is FIERCE! – We’ve been lucky enough to go and play elsewhere and meet a bunch of other bands that are local to those areas and there’s such great vibes, but then you come back to Brighton and there’s things like Mumfest and 234 – the standard of bands in Brighton is so high. We’ve got to try and be the best we can be. And everyone’s doing their own thing, it’s not like everyone’s overlapping, they’re supporting each other, it’s just wonderful. There’s always new bands cropping up as well. Van Zon are the new ones to watch. And Moon Idle (who supported Van Zon on the night we met up). We played at Mutations, and they played just before us. They’re a really cool band. One of those ones where you see a band and you say to yourself give this band a bit of time and they could be huge.”

The week after the EP comes out Hutch are heading out on tour. “We’re all just buzzed to get back out on the road. It’s the BEST thing. It’s so much fun. This is the longest tour we’ve done, with the most dates, and all headline shows. In September we went on tour with Gitkin and we went to Europe, we were playing every night – when we looked we thought we would be exhausted, but then the excitement after the first night, you get there and you have that post show buzz, Man, that’s so much fun. And you look at the tour dates and see that you’ve got that same feeling for another couple of weeks. And a headline tour will be even more exciting. And tours bring us closer together too – Although we spend pretty much all our time together anyway!”
And you’ve got Lewes Psych Fest at the end of January before the tour. “I’m so looking forward to it – it’s one of those line ups that you look at every year and want to check out all the bands because you know they’re going to be cool. Initially when we started playing we thought it would be so great if we could do that at some point”. You’ve worked with Chris Innerstrings (who organises LPF with Melting Vinyl) before – didn’t he do lights for you at 234 festival in 2022? “Yeah, He’s a lovely guy – he’s also doing lights at our show at the Green Door Store date on the tour. That’s the date that we’re most excited about – We’re heading out and slowly working our way back to Brighton. I think the Brighton one will be one to remember.”

Ice on the Lake is out today, the Smile & Wave EP is out 23rd of February, and the band head out on tour on 29th February, playing Brighton on 15th March