Normally around this time of week we post up our recommendations for the forthcoming weekend’s gigs. This week we’ve picked out just one for your attention, which is also an album launch for a new compilation which features some great Brighton bands.
Hidden Brighton is a new compilation from our friends over at Hidden Trail – the label associated with the Some Of It Is True blog. It’s being launched with a gig on Friday Night at the Palmeira with three of the bands who contributed to the compilation playing live. The Self Help Group, Hella Better Dancer and Ellie Ford will be performing, and the album also features contributions from Kill Moon, The Raving Beauties, The Standard Lamps, The Hundredth Anniversary, tiNhearT, Flash Bang Band, Woodland Blue, Kokopelli and Us Baby Bear Bones. Proceeds from the album will go towards charity Grace Eyre, who support local children with learning difficulties, and all acts have donated their tracks free of charge. Tickets for the gig will be available on the door or in advance from the venue or Resident Records.
Last night Wild Cat Strike played at the Green Door Store to celebrate the launch of their new EP Attentive Blood, and we went along to record the even for posterity and to share a bit of the atmosphere for those who couldn’t make it. The EP is out now via bandcamp through the link below. Support came from equally great Poles Apart and The New Union.
Since the end of last year, anyone whose asked us about the Brighton music scene has probably had their ear bent by me telling them that the best new band around were IYES. And now, about a year after we were knocked off our feet by the stunning Lighthouse, their debut single ‘Til Infinity has landed.
Sparse and simple for the first minute with just tribal drums, handclaps and Melis’ vocals, the track then explodes into life with a pop chorus that’s simultaneously both breathy and vulnerable, and powerful with its swirling chiming guitars, and clashing cymbals. Midway through the track IYES’ other half Josh gets a vocal turn adding a bit more colour to proceedings, and later there’s a bridge that drops everything to almost nothing, before one last triumphant chorus, and then at just three minutes everything’s over and done with – as all great pop songs should be.
Best of all, they’ve used an apostrophe and one ‘l’, which this pedant secretly very happy.
Somehow, we’ve turned two! Two years of gig going, photo taking, demo listening and doing out best to share the music we love coming out of Brighton. Here’s what we loved in October:
1 Eagles For Hands – Lisbon
Eagles for Hands gave out their new EP for free for a short while earlier in the month and the title track, which sounds not dissimilar to 808 State at the height of the powers has been our most played track this month. The free download is over now (you should have grabbed it when we told you about it!) but it’s worth every penny you’ll pay on iTunes.
2 Momotaro – Reverie 3 Gaps – Belong
Giving away a free track in return for signing up to a bands mailing list is the new black. Or something like that. Momotaro and Gaps are two of our favourite discoveries this year and you can get these tracks just for the price of an email address.
4 The Beautiful Word – Eating Me, Eating You
“It’s not rude!” Megan and Emily blush when they introduce this track live. Of course it’s not, but a bit of innuendo doesn’t do anyone any harm. The video for Eating Me, Eating You dropped this month, and the track appears on The Beautiful Word’s album Particles which we’ll be reviewing soon.
5 Electric Soft Parade – The Sun Never Sets Around Here
The Sun Never Sets Around Here in ESP’s new single to go alongside their minitour. The band have just announced a Christmas date at the Unitarian Church on 6th December. Get your tickets quick because it’s going to sell out fast.
6 Prince Vaseline – Sunset
Lovely lovely stuff from a Milke & Biscuits side project
7 Nordic Giants – Neotenie
Neotenie appears on part one of the Nordic Giants Build Seas Dismantle Suns double EP. We’ll be putting up something about part two – the Dismantle Suns half – very soon.
8 Yumi & The Weather – All We Can
The lead track from Yumi & The Weather’s debut EP (and it’s accompanying video) is a much sunnier track than the weather outside at the moment. We’ve had it on repeat to bring a bit of summer back into our lives. The Vondelpark rework that’s also on the EP is quite tasty too.
9 Moulettes – Songbird
Moulettes gig at Applefest (which we missed because we didn’t want caught in the torrential rain in Lewes), and their giveaway of this track reminded up just how much we love Moulettes. From the look of their Facebook / Twitter streams, they’re working on new material right now. Can’t wait!
10 Alice Amelia – #1000 Dreams
We rather liked Alice Amelia’s free download that she gave away earlier this month – sophisticated sparse piano and a lovely vocal. She’s playing down at Above Audio this Wednesday for free as well!
Just a short and sweet weekend gig post this week, because we’re darting off to see Nordic Giants at the Concorde soon (there are still tickets on the door apparently, and they’re a brilliant live band).
Thursday night is Halloween, so it’s only right that our gig pick for the evening is Green Door Store’s Halloweiner event, with Tigercub headlining. It’s a late one though – it doesn’t start until 11pm, which isn’t exactly ideal if you’ve got work in the morning.
Friday night is Lout’s regular Brighton Rocks night at Sticky Mike’s. This week London Commands You, The Fuses, Lonesome Heights and Dear Joseph play.
Then on Saturday Jipsy Magic launch their new single at the Blind Tiger. So Serious comes out as a free download this weekend, and they’re holding a free party to celebrate.
Kins eponymous album has been out since July, but until now there hasn’t been a single released from it. All this changes when they release Aimless on 18th November. The band are heading out on a national tour starting later this week culminating in a hometown gig at The Hope on the 21st of November.
We’ve got a bit of catching up to do in our new music round up – it’s been nearly two weeks since we made one of these posts, and we found a couple of other bits and pieces from when we were away a few weeks.
Man Ray Sky – Luma
Man Ray Sun have put up a video for their new track Luma, taken from their forthcoming EP Coreless, which comes out in November on Beatabet Records
Bunty – Multimos 6
Talking of Beatabet, Bunty released the sixth episode of her Multimos project a few weeks back. This time round it’s a free bandcamp download, so you can enjoy it even if you’ve got a tight budget.
Samuel Organ – Bay
The Physics House Band’s Samuel Organ has posted up a taster of his forthcoming album onto soundcloud with the track Bay. The track is a bit more chilled and a bit less aurally challenging than his previous solo releases, but doesn’t lose anything for it.
Lonesome Heights – Nagasaki
The new single by Lonesome Heights is a track that came out back in September while we were away, but we’re pleased to write about it now. Once you’re done with watching the video you can buy the track on iTunes.
Circ – Unself
The new track from Circ is called Unself and features vocals by Hane Laure.
Ez Stone – Moroccan Whiskey EP
Ez Stone’s Moroccan Whiskey EP is coming out next week on TLS Records – the new label set up by The Loft Sessions. For now, you can listen to the second track Old Man Soul on Bandcamp and pre-order the cd. The first hundred will be signed!
Waxwork Figurine – Peace With the World
Peace With The World is the new track from Waxwork Figurine. The first half is a little like some of Radiohead’s more electronic output, but then halfway through, the guitars kick in!
Eone – Dispersion
The new release on Numerology Records is another one which came out while we were on our holidays in September. Eone’s Dispersion EP has got deep house beats for the dance floor, and enough detail and ambience to make it worth a listen through headphones too.
Invokal, Asbest & The Paragraph Pirates – Yo Ho Ho
The new hip hop poetry from Invokal comes in a variety of different versions – Jungle Step, Glitch Hop, Electro Hop and Space Funk – and is available to download now on Bandcamp.
Moulettes – Songbird
Our last track in this mammoth roundup is my favourite from Moulette’s album The Bear’s Revenge. The band have just finished all of their touring and promotion for the record, and to put a close to that chapter are giving away the lovely Songbird as a free download.
Last night we went along to the Brighton Dome Source New Music Night, but for one reason or the other we didn’t get along quite as early as we’d hoped, so we missed Last Heir and Cousin. We did get lots of photos of the other two acts – Teardrop Factory and last months Source cover stars Traams – and here they are.
We’re going to kick off this week’s round up of the best local gigs with probably the fastest selling out local gig of recent times. Nick Cave may have been born in Australia, but he’s been a Brighton Resident for many years, and this Thursday he brings his Bad Seeds to Brighton Dome as part of their Push The Sky Away tour. If you didn’t manage to get a Nick Cave ticket and fancy some live music tomorrow night, then Physics House Band are supporting Jaga Jazzist at the Old Market.
On Friday night a couple of regular Brighton live music nights have got some great line ups. At the Blind Tiger, Les Enfants Terribles have Tigercub headlining, alongside Plasticine, Great Pagans and Skirts, and then later on at Sticky Mikes Late Night Lingerie have a bill consisting of Spit Shake Sisters, The Querelles, Vyypers, Thee MVPs and Slagcan.
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Sticking with regular nights, Saturday is the next Source New Music night at the Dome Studio Theatre. Recent Source cover stars Traams headline – technically they’re not a Brighton band (they’re from Chichester), but they are signed to Brighton label FatCat, they do play most of their gigs here, and they are a fantastic live band. Support comes from Teardrop Factory, Cousin and Last Heir. Saturday is also Oxjam Brighton day, where for a five pound wrist band you can see dozens of bands all over town at different locations, kicking off from 12 o clock. Full line up details are on the flyer below – our picks are BentCousin, who will be playing at the Seven Stars at 6.30, and Fragile Creatures on at 9pm at the Hobgoblin.
On Saturday night we headed down to the Green Door Store for live music night Drugs. There were originally five bands on the bill, but Twins didn’t make it, but Grasshopper, Bentcousin, The Bright Ones and Skirts more than made up for it. Here’s our pics. As usual, click to view large:
Hidden Brighton is a new compilation from our friends over at Hidden Trail – the label associated with the Some Of It Is True blog. It’s being launched with a gig on Friday Night at the Palmeira with three of the bands who contributed to the compilation playing live. The Self Help Group, Hella Better Dancer and Ellie Ford will be performing, and the album also features contributions from Kill Moon, The Raving Beauties, The Standard Lamps, The Hundredth Anniversary, tiNhearT, Flash Bang Band, Woodland Blue, Kokopelli and Us Baby Bear Bones. Proceeds from the album will go towards charity Grace Eyre, who support local children with learning difficulties, and all acts have donated their tracks free of charge. Tickets for the gig will be available on the door or in advance from the venue or Resident Records.
Brighton Music Blog 