Bat for Lashes at Brighton Dome

Posted on 05/11/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Last night, Bat for Lashes made a triumphant return to the Brighton stage. It’s been three years since Natasha Khan has played her hometown, but last night’s gig at the Dome showcasing her new album The Haunted Man was a wondrous thing. Brighton was the last date of her UK tour, and the audience was full of fans and friends alike. Her set was predominantly taken from the new album, with a sprinkling of tracks from her previous records, with the closing track predictably being her biggest hit Daniel. It was a real joy to see her at the Dome – the venue suited her perfectly. The stage was big enough to turn the event into a visual spectacle, and the sound was impeccable. Natasha’s voice was an absolute marvel.

Click on the thumbnails below to open open the gallery and view the pictures large:

Dark Horses / Black Music

Posted on 04/11/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Last Monday, Dark Horses released their debut album Black Music. We’d have written about it sooner, but we were waiting to tie it in with the launch party on halloween, and we’ve been shellshocked ever since.

Black Music, put simply, is the most powerful album to be released by any Brighton Band this year. It’s sleazy rock’n’roll. It’s filthy electro. It’s teutonic Krautrock. It’s the soundtrack to the film that Quentin Tarantino hasn’t made with David Lynch. It’s the smell of oil, leather, sweat and blood. It’s amazing. By about now, you should have stopped reading and opened up another browser window to order the album (try here).

Dark Horses got Death In Vegas main man Richard Fearless in to produce the album, and he’s the perfect choice. Black Music recalls some of the best bits from The Contino Sessions or Scorpio Rising. Around two thirds of the way through the album, the pace drops and things quieten with a few cover versions, the first being a song called Sanningen Om Dig by singer Lisa Elle’s Swedish compatriot Tomas Andersson, and the second a surprisingly delicate take on Talking Head’s Road To Nowhere, featuring harp and a doo-wop backing.

Dark Horses

Live, Dark Horses were as fearsome a prospect as the album, playing up to the myth with each band member dressed in black,, minimal lighting and dry ice filling the stage, and Lisa Elle adding to the mystique by talking in Swedish between the tracks. It was also daunting for me to take photos of the band – Dark Horses are one of the first acts I’ve come across who’ve given their photographer equal credit alongside each band member. They also manage to transcend the feeling that we were watching a local act – driven by their stage presence primarily, but also the following the band have, not coming to see them because they’re local, or because they’re friends with one of the members, but for what a great band they are.

Dark Horses

http://www.darkhorsesmusic.com/news/

Mary Hampton Cotillion supported by Crayola Lectern and Do You Feel What I Feel Deer at the Hanover Centre

Posted on 04/11/2012 by brightonmusicblog

This is my third visit to the Hanover Community Centre this year. Last time I was there was a few weeks ago for the Hanover Beer Festival, and back in the summer I was there for a non-Christian christening type affair. It’s not your usual live music venue. That didn’t put people off though, with the room full to the brim before anyone had even played a note.

First up were Do You Feel What I Feel Deer, a folk duo augmented with violin, a smaller arrangement than when I saw them supporting Mice Parade a couple of weeks ago. Their tight harmonies held the room, and the song themselves felt at the same time both progressive yet timeless. The audience was spellbound, as was I.

The second support was Crayola Lectern, whose album The Fall and Rise of Crayola Lectern is due early next year. Crayola Lectern don’t write normal songs – their tracks don’t follow a verse / chorus / verse structure, and can sometimes stretch for ten minutes as different turns are taken. There’s humour, but they aren’t a novelty act, and some songs convey an astonishing level of tenderness and emotion just with the music. There aren’t really words that can truly describe Crayola Lectern. They’re completely without comparison ; brave and individual, and while they confused some of the audience, they should be applauded for doing their own thing.

Crayola Lectern

Finally it was time for Mary Hampton Cotillion. She could call the additional musicians that joined her her band, but they felt a bit more special than that. Seeing Mary Hampton live is an amazing experience normally, but with a band she takes things to another level, bringing in rich harmonies and lush arrangements. Their set felt like it was over too soon, taking in around half a dozen folk songs which sounded like they could have been written at any point in the last five hundred years, including last years single Honey in the Rock, and a brand new track which the band spent the previous day recording. It was beautiful. And while it could be argued that it was a short set, nobody in the room could have felt short changed with such great night.

Mary Hampton

http://www.maryhampton.org/

http://www.crayolalectern.com/

http://doyoufeelwhatifeeldeer.bandcamp.com/

Catherine Ireton supported by Ed Prosek at the Green Door Store

Posted on 03/11/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Last night, Catherine Ireton played her biggest Brighton gig to date. Over the summer she’s been playing the most intimate gigs, at the Booth Museum, in a room tucked around the back of London Road station and most recently, as she put it last night “in your bedroom” (which is a nice way of saying it was a webcast). Before she plays her last Treasure Tracks gig in a couple of weeks time, she’s played a night at the Green Door Store, supported by Hattie Cooke and Ed Prosek.

Ed Prosek

We managed to miss Hattie Cooke due to a prior engagement at the Basketmakers, and arrived just in time for Ed Prosek and his band. Ed is an American who’s made Brighton his home and plies his musical trade in Singer-Songwriter stock. He made a bit of a splash this summer when his cover of Paul Simon’s Homeward Bound got used in an advert for cheese. Aside from the great voice and well crafted songs, Ed’s great strength last night was the lush instrumentation – As well as Ed’s guitar playing we was joined by a mandolin, piano and full string quartet. My only grumble was his song moaning about the south coast of England in favour of California. Ed – be mindful of your audience!

Catherine Ireton

Around half nine, Catherine Ireton took to the stage. Much like her Treasure Tracks gigs, the bulk of her set was just her and her piano – a simple setup, which didn’t need anything else. The songs got carried along by Catherine’s big voice, telling stories based on recollections of her experiences, of haunted rooms and half-remembered childhood memories. For the closing track of her set, she called on the supports to join her on stage for a rendition of the Stuart Mudoch penned Come Monday Night, recorded by Catherine when she part of the Belle & Sebastian side project God Help The Girl. If that made the gig feel very much like a family affair, then the encore made things feel even more intimate – Catherine had been singing with a radio mic, and for her finale wandered out into the crowd and sung unaccompanied. Breathtaking.

The return of The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster

Posted on 01/11/2012 by brightonmusicblog

After Nike used their track Chicken on an advert, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster reformed for a few gigs, playing in Brighton on tuesday. Today they announced that their reformation was permanent. Here’s what they had to say on Facebook:

“AFTER STANDING ON STAGE TOGETHER AGAIN, SELLING OUT THIS TOUR AND RECEIVING SUCH AN INCREDIBLE RESPONSE FROM YOU ALL, IT’S BECOME CLEAR WE’RE NOW HITTING OUR STRIDE! THE EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER HAS NOW TAKEN ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN AND MUSICALLY WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS TOGETHER. SO WE’RE GOING TO RECORD SOME NEW SONGS TO SET ALIGHT TO THE NEXT UK SHOW AT SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE ON FRIDAY 12TH APRIL. TICKETS ON SALE AT 9AM TOMORROW.
THE STORY CONTINUES!!!! MORE NEWS SOON.”

It’s good to have them back.

Brighton Bands nominated for the Artrocker awards – Maccabees, Dark Horses, Tall Ships & Fear of Men

Posted on 01/11/2012 by brightonmusicblog

All eyes are on the Mercury Music Prize tonight, but they’re not the only awards to be watching. It’s also a great year for Brighton acts in the end of year nominations over at Artrocker. On top of their Mercury nomination, The Maccabees are up for band over the year. Dark Horses whose album Black Music is out this week did well too, picking up nominations for best single for Radio, and Best New Band. Tall Ships and Fear of Men are also up for Best New Band too. Head over to the Artrocker website and get voting!

Moulettes / Uca’s Dance

Posted on 01/11/2012 by brightonmusicblog

The Moulettes have a new single out soon! In a few weeks time, Uca’s Dance comes out, and it’s classic Moulettes – fiddles, close harmonies, and stomping rhythms. It also features the talents of one Ted Dwane

The band are having a launch for the single up in London on 24th November at The Tabernacle up in London. Book your tickets from Communion, and you could be in with a chance of winning the EP. Book 6 or more tickets, and you could be in with a chance of Moulettes playing a gig at your house. How amazing would that be?

If going all the way to London seems a bit of a trek, The Moulettes are playing at the Komedia on 21st November, supporting Arthur Brown.

There’s a whole load more information over on the Moulettes website.

Danger De Mort – Nordic Giants & Curxes

Posted on 31/10/2012 by brightonmusicblog

It was a good night for Brighton Bands last night. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster made their live return at the Concorde in the biggest local gig in town, but we were showing our support for Nordic Giants and Curxes at the Green Door Store.

You wait all year for a Curxes gig, and then two come along in less than a fortnight. While they stole the show at the Source New Music Oxjam night, the Green Door felt much more suitable for them, with it’s exposed brickwork and stark decor. And while it probably wasn’t any louder than the Dome Studio Theatre, it felt a lot louder and less refined. The much lower stage gave Roberta the opportunity to get in amongst the crowd to try and get them dancing – Sadly they weren’t having any of it – It was a rainy Tuesday night, don’t you know! The crowd were wrong though – Curxes industrial electro pop should have got everyone in the room moving.

Curxes

The other support was a London act Jake Emlyn, which means I don’t have to write about them. I wasn’t so sure about them to be honest – in some respects androgyny has been a key aspect of pop over the years, from David Bowie through to Suede, but where they had an air of mystery about them, Jake Emlyn just had confusion. And two odd shoes isn’t a good look on anyone.

Jake Emlyn

Most of the crowd last night were there for Nordic Giants, playing we think might have been their longest set in Brighton this year. We haven’t seen too much of them round these parts in 2012, and their sets at Great Escape and more recently Sound Screen were shortened at the expense of a wider bill. With more time, Nordic Giants are bigger, better, and more expansive than ever before. They got to play their full repertoire. Let’s not forget that as established as they feel when you go to see them, they’ve only released one EP and one single, and both of those were based around the fantastic Shine featuring Cate Ferris. Despite only being a duo, the Green Door Store stage almost felt too small for them. Nordic Giants are epic, and have the staging, the lighting and the music just right for a stage that’s bigger than the one under the arches near the station.

Nordic Giants

The Next Danger De Mort is on November 20th at Green Door Store, and features Death Rattle, Dark Bells, My New Favourite Tribe and Heliopause.

We Are One!

Posted on 31/10/2012 by brightonmusicblog

It’s been a whole year since we started the blog. We’ve written about dozens of gigs, videos, singles and albums, making over two hundred posts. In that time we’ve written about hundreds of bands – a hundred and seventy five, to be precise. So thanks for the music to all of the bands below, and here’s to the next year!

Black Black Hills at the Source New Music Night at the Pavilion Theatre 1/12/11

Cate Ferris in the Pavilion Theatre Bar at the Source New Music Night

Cate Ferris in the Pavilion Theatre Bar as part of the Source New Music night / Fuji Superia 1600

The Woo!Worths at the Pavilion Theatre at The Source New Music Night

Preston from the Ordinary Boys at the Juice New Music Night at the Green Door Store

Preston from the Ordinary Boys at the Juice New Music Night at the Green Door Store 30/11/11

For Marla /Source New Music Night / Pavilion Theatre / 1/12/11

For Marla, at the Source New Music Night at the Pavilion Theatre 1/12/11

Abi Wade at the Source New Music Night at the Pavilion Theatre 1/12/11

Jane Bartholomew at the Basement 6/12/11

Dominic Von Trapp of Sweet Sweet Lies at The Haunt 15/12/11

Steph Goodman of Shrag (taken at Green Door Store 17/12/11)

Jennifer Left at the Juice New Music Night at The Haunt 21/12/11

Kidda at the Juice New Music Night at The Haunt 21/12/11

Midfield General at the Juice New Music Night at The Haunt 21/12/11

Brighton Music Blog, a set on Flickr.

30lbs Of Bone, 900 Spaces, Adolescent, Alice Amelia, Amongst The Pigeons, Anneka, Apples & Eve, Astro Physics, Augustus Caesar, Jane Bartholomew, Bat for Lashes, Beat Express, Beautiful Word, Becky Becky, BirdEatsBaby, Bitbin, Black Black Hills, Sebastian Blake, Blood Red Shoes, The Bobby McGees, British Sea Power, Bunty, Call Me Jolene, Nick Cave, Cave Painting, Caveman Genius, Celebricide, Al Chamberlain, Chris T-T, Cinemascopes, Clowns, Hattie Cooke, Christine Cooke, Cousin, Crayola Lectern, Curxes, DA-10, Deadbeat Descendent, Dear Prudence, Diamond Family Archive, Do You Feel What I Feel Deer, The Droplets, Electric Soft Parade, Eliza Jaye, Elk, Elle Kaye, Steve Elston, Emy Lou Harris, Esben & The Witch, Fear of Men, Cate Ferris, Fire Eyes, Flash Bang Band, Stuart Flynn, For Marla, Foxes!, Fragile Creatures, Fujiya & Miyagi, The Galleons, Cordelia Gartside, Emma Gatrill, Kate Daisy Grant, Grinderman, Mary Hampton, Ian Hannah, Hatful of Rain, Heliopause, Hiawatha Telephone Company, High Rankin, Amy Hill, Holy Vessels, House of Hats, The Hundredth Anniversary, I Am Ampersand, I’m Being Good, The Impellers, Catherine Ireton, Ital Tek, Jackson & the King Kickers, Daniel James, Jetglo, Jumping Ships, Junior Electronics, Tim Keegan, Keel Her, Kellar, Danny Kendall, Kid Capola, Kidda, King of Cats, King Porter Stomp, The Kingsmiths, Kinnie The Explorer, Kovak, Krill & Captain Kelp, Laish, Jennifer Left, The Levellers, Lux Harmonium, Maccabees, Maff the Rom, Man Ray Sky, Conor Maynard, Mean Poppa Lean, The Men Who Fell To Earth, Metronomy, Midfield General, Milk & Biscuits, Minor Sounds, The Mojo Fins, The Moulettes, Moya, Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer, Mudlow, The Muel, Munich, Native Roses, Negatitve Pegasus, The New Union, Nimmo & The Gauntlets, Nordic Giants, Nullifier, Omega Male, Orbital, Ordinary Boys, Adrian Oxaal, P For Persia, Pact, The Peanut Albinos, Peggy Sue, The Peppermint Beat Band, Pete Fij & Terry Bickers, Physics House Band, Ingrid Plum, Pure Conjecture, Nick Pynn, Red River Dialect, The Repeat Prescriptions, Restlesslist, Rizzle Kicks, Rocker Switch, Saint Coltrane, Saint Etienne, Scribe Tribe, SeaDog, Sealings, Shrag, Silver Brazilians, Smart Phone Orchestra, Soft Arrows, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Sparrow, Speak Galactic, The Squadron Leaders, Robert Stillman, Sweet Sweet Lies, Tall Ships, Tandy Hard, thedealwasforthediamond, Thee Mouldous Hypotenuse, Tigercub, Time & Space Machine, Tiny Dragons, Twin Brother, Tyrannosaurus Dead, Us Baby Bear Bones, Conrad Vingoe, Abi Wade, Whiskey Whores, Thomas White, Wild Cat Strike, Kate Williams, The Woo!Worths, Woodpecker Wooliams, Your Explosion My Mind

A taster of the new Esben & The Witch album

Posted on 30/10/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Esben & The Witch release their new album Wash the Sins Not Only the Face in January. “That’s ages away!” I hear you say! Well, it’s not that far away, but if you really can’t wait that long, you can head over to the Matador Records Blog, where there’s a whole host more information, and a free download of the track Deathwaltz.