It’s that time of week where we steer you towards the gigs we like the look of over the weekend. The weather forecast is looking fantastic this weekend so we’ve made sure that there’s some outdoor fun to be had.
Tonight Wildflowers headline Brighton Finest’s gig at the Hope, which comes with support from Nick Williams and The Victorian Hunter. Friday night is Trading Places night at the Green Door Store and this time around they’re focussing on Iggy Pop and the Stooges with a bill that features a host of DJs and bands headlined by Spit Shake Sisters.
On Saturday night Becky Becky are playing a free gig at the Green Door Store previewing their upcoming album. Meanwhile down at the Blind Tiger there’s another free gig with Spacenoid and AK/DK lined up to play.
Also on Saturday and Sunday there’s the Paddle Round The Pier festival taking place on Hove Lawns. As well as the opportunity the opportunity to try a whole host of water sports and watch the races from pier to pier culminating in the amusing Paddle Something Unusual race, there will be music on all day. Some of the highlights we spotted were Jennifer Left on at 2.45pm on Saturday, The Move Ons on at 5.45pm on Saturday, and Carnival Collective closing the music stages at 5pm on Sunday.
Welcome to our second monthly Top Ten feature. It’s officially regular, now that we’ve made it two months in a row! As with last month, it’s loosely based on what Last.fm has told me I’ve listened to, although this month it seemed to bear no relation to what iTunes was recording for the play counts. Also one of the tracks is just a YouTube video, so that didn’t appear on iTunes or Last.fm. So without further ado, here’s what we’ve been loving this month:
1) Watching Her Dance / DA-10
Watching Her Dance appeared on our radar roughly at the same time as we heard about DA-10’s The Shape of Space EP, but it was the EP which was getting the attention and the PR push. Several weeks later it’s this mode dancefloor friendly free download which is still on heavy rotation.
2) Battersea / AK/DK
Battersea is the lead track from AK/DK’s new cassette only release Dispatch #3, and we love it’s crazy squelchiness
3) Rio / Cave Painting
The video for Rio surfaced online a few months ago, but the EP finally hit the shops on 29th April. The packaging is every bit as gorgeous as you’d expect from Cave Painting, as is the quality of the music. There’s only a hundred of these out there, so good luck hunting one out
4) Daddy / IYES
This track was a bit of a surprise after the vocal pop of Lighthouse and Glow, but Daddy showed that IYES are just as assured at Balearic house
5) Goddess of War / Phantom Runners
Phantom Runners were one of our discoveries in the run up to the Great Escape. We didn’t manage to catch their set (although hopefully we’ll be there when they play at the Blind Tiger at the next Les Enfants Terribles night on 28th June), but we think their debut single as a great slice of indie pop
6) Anneka / Deliver
Not a single, or even a physical or digital release, but just a Youtube video, Deliver was still one of the best tracks out of Brighton we heard this month
7) Abraxical Solapse / Physics House Band
The Physics House Band’s Horizons / Rapture mini LP came out in April, and while it’s not as accessible as some of the poppier acts on the list, it’s certainly just as rewarding. You probably won’t be whistling any of the songs in the shower, but you will keep going back to them over and over
8) Hold On / Luo
Luo seem to be growing more and more with every new track we hear from them, and Hold on is no exception. In a few releases they’ve expanded their range from glitchy chill out and currently sound like a more electronic Physics House Band. Give them a few months and the sky’s the limit
9) Fallback / Catherine Ireton
A little while back, our friends over at the Some Of It Is True blog started up a record label called Hidden Trail. We got a bit distracted and haven’t got around to writing about the label’s first release yet – a compilation of some of their favourite tracks they’ve come across – but our favourite track from what we’ve listened to so far is Catherine Ireton’s Fallback
10) Goldfish Song / Crayola Lectern
We’re still listening to The Fall and Rise of Crayola Lectern at Brighton Music Blog HQ, and have grown rather fond of The Goldfish Song, a tune about suicidal pets sounding not a million miles away from The Beatle’s Day In The Life
The Great Escape is almost upon us – great news for seeing bands, not such great news in terms of having time to write about them. So, very quickly it all kicks off, here’s the things on our list which if why don’t write about now, we’ll never get around to.
Cave Painting have a new EP out called Rio, which is packaged just as beautifully as their album was last year. You can buy it for a fiver from Resident or from the Cave Painting website. Here’s the video for the lead track:
Phantom Runners debut single Goddess of War recalls the best of early 90s guitar indie pop. There’s a hint of Stone Roses in the drums, and the guitars sound like The Railway Children or some other Factory band from that era. We hit download before we’d even listened the whole way through:
Next is the video for Battersea, the lead track from AK/DK‘s new single we wrote about recently:
The new Transformer single is out on 31st May, sees them dropping the vowels for three and a half minutes of electro pop:
Luo‘s new single Dissolver is available to download on Soundcloud. We’ve been big fans of his glitchy laid back jazzy electronica since we first saw him at Sea Monsters, and this track is another fine string to his bow:
AK/DK aren’t the only local analogue synth dance band with new material out. DA-10 also have a new EP called The Shape of Space. Redshift is ravey, Respirator is instrumental hip hop with huge bass (and is still available for download over at XLR8R), Anaphase is retro sounding space-rock, I Have to Survive is broken beat house number and closer Out Of Reach Of Earth brings together a lot of the sounds from each of the preceding tracks. There’s a sampler up on soundcloud, which you can hear here:
The new Call Me Jolene EP, May, is a real change of pace and mood to something far more personal and reflective. It was out on the first of may, and sounds a bit like this:
Finally we have Alice Amelia‘s new single Passion. What starts off sounding like a piano ballad transforms into some slick r’n’b. There’s a free download on the soundcloud link below:
Last time we went to Club Berlin Jennifer Left and Dom from Sweet Sweet lies played at The Jive Monkey in Kemptown. Since then the Jive Monkey has closed down and Club Berlin has had to find a new home, which they’ve done in the Green Door Store where they were last night. La Momo (featuring Crayola Lectern on guitar) opened the evening, followed by half an hour of improvised synths from AK/DK before a headline set from Das Fenster. Fujiya and Miyagi were DJing between acts, but they were in the dark so they avoided my lens. Actually, for the most part AK/DK were in the dark too!
We wrote a preview of the AK/DK single launch which took place last week, at the Source New Music Night at the Dome Studio theatre, but we didn’t actually write anything about the release.
Dispatches #3 is coming out soon on download and limited cassette, with gorgeous packaging. The main track Battersea is up now as a free download – it’s a crazy lock groove analogue synth driven number which sounds like Stereolab’s ADHD kid brother, which captures a bit of the energy and attitude of their legendary live sets. The full track list of the release is:
Battersea
Punk Music Mass
Jello With Mimi
Battersea [Checked Slice’s Corrupt File Mix]
Battersea [Mechacoustic Mix]
Battersea [Man Ray Sky Mix]
Battersea [Champion Fever Mix]
Normally midweek I put up a post about gigs that have caught our eye in the upcoming weekend. This week, I’m making an exception and writing a whole post about three gigs taking place on thursday night, all of which look fantastic.
The first of the three is Brighton Music Blog favourites Moulettes, who are playing at The Haunt. Moulettes are a fantastic band, but it’s not until you see them live that you truly appreciate how great they are. Support comes from local act The Slytones (who we’ve still yet to catch), and Robert Vincent.
AKDK were one of our favourite acts at this year’s Sea Monsters. Their new single Battersea is out soon, so to celebrate they’re headlining this month’s Source New Music at the Dome Studio Theatre. Support comes from DA-10 (who were also brilliant at Sea Monsters), Dog in the Snow and George Lazenbleep.
Last, but by no means least is another launch, but this time of a magazine rather than a single. Boon Magazine say that they’re going to feature music, fashion, photography and culture. The launch takes place at the Green Door Store, and is headlined by The New Union. There’s also going to be a burlesque dancer, and more music from Demob Happy, Kill Moon and Spit Shake Sisters.
Here’s our pick of the local bands playing in Brighton this weekend. As always, you’re spoiled for choice – there’s some fantastic bands playing, and we’re a bit torn ourselves.
Tonight we were planning to go and see Bent Cousin at Sticky Mike’s, but sadly that’s been cancelled. Instead, we’d recommend heading down to the Green Door Store for an event called Hooray For Love! Well, it is Valentines day. Transformer headline, supported by Bob Wants His Head Back, Fire Eyes and Duke of Burgundy. Doors are 5pm, music starts at 7.30pm, so it will have already kicked off by the time I post this.
Friday night Run Young Lovers headline the Haunt, supported by Tiny Dragons and Daniel & The Scandals. Meanwhile, Simonne & The Dark Stars headline the Seven Stars, and Carnival Collective take over the Blind Tiger.
Saturday Night our friends over at Brighton Noise are putting on their third regular gig. Noise Night three has a fantastic line up – AKDK, P for Persia and Black Black Hills. Over at the Dome Studio Theatre, Source New Music have invited Innerstrings Light Show to work with them on the line up for their monthly gig. The brilliant Physics House Band headline, supported by Baron, Reds, Pete Fij & Terry Bickers and Baal Fire.
Then on Sunday is the gig that we’re most looking forward to – Dome Studio Theatre host the Nordic Giants for the launch of their new single Speed The Crows Nest, and they promise a set of new songs and new films. Support comes from Brighton Music Blog favourite Abi Wade and Saturday Sun.
So, that was Sea Monsters for another year. Last night was the closing night of the festival, and was hosted by Bizarro World, a Brighton night where bands play a whole set of songs covering one band. Previous Bizarro World nights have been held upstairs at Fitzherberts, and been absolutely packed out. As well as playing the songs of another band, the acts have also dressed like like the band they’re covering.
I arrived midway through Son Belly‘s set, taking on the persona of James Brown. He was wearing a purple velvet jacket, but there was no evidence whatsoever of The Funk – This was dirty garage rock’n’roll. I just about made out some of the vocals from Sex Machine amongst the clattering guitars, and Son Belly’s set was more about rocking out than honouring the Godfather of Soul.
The Wytches took Marilyn Manson, and they also rocked hard. There wasn’t much of an effort made in the outfits – I would have hoped for gothic costumes, or maybe some freaky contact lenses. As for how faithful the songs were to the originals, I have no idea – I couldn’t name a Marilyn Manson song if you pressed me.
One of the things I love about ZZ Top is that all the members of the band have beards, except for the drummer, whose name is Frank Beard. Sea Bastard didn’t come as ZZ Top though, they came as Motorhead. They all wore Motorhead T shirts except their bassist who displayed truly heroic dedication to the cause and grew some Lemmy style sideburns. Respect. Sea Bastard turned Motorhead’s greasy rock’n’roll into heavy doom-rock. Headbanging took place on and off stage, and there was a lot of hair flying about all the way through to set-closer Ace of Spades, the track they couldn’t not play.
In a night filled with rock music and with a name like theirs, there’s no way that AK/DK would be anything other than AC/DC. With one member rolling his t-shirt sleeves up to the shoulder in an 80s Australian fashion and the other in a faux-school uniform, and both with terrible wigs and school caps, the stage was set. To assume that the headliners would be rolling out heavy guitar riffs like the other bands would have been a mistake though – AK/DK are all about the synths and the drums. Their take on rock classics was to put them through a filter of looping krautrock, with riffs played as distorted squelchy sequenced keyboard lines, although that’s not to say they didn’t rock as hard or as energetically as the earlier acts. AK/DK did so with a huge dose of fun though, and with smiles on their faces throughout. My previous experience of Bizarro World had been that it wasn’t taking thing that seriously, and AK/DK made sure that was carrying on.
Last year’s Sea Monsters wasn’t curated by outsiders, but this year’s is. How did you come to be hosting an evening?
We have a really good relationship with One Inch Badge. They’re big supporters of the magazine through their advertising and we find it very easy to write about the gigs they put on as not only are there so many to choose from, they’re also very interesting up-and-coming bands. But I guess they asked us because we’re the only magazine that exclusively writes about the Brighton music scene.
Current Source cover stars Kins are second on the bill. Are headliners Written in Waters set for big things in 2013?
Essentially they could be absolutely huge or drive everyone mad. They’re not for everyone – it’s a very strange mix of styles, they’re kinda goth soul meets Pink Floyd – but the people that like them really love them. Kins are much easier to get you head around – they’re really powerful on stage but also very melodic. But I don’t think many bands would find it easy to follow Written In Waters – they’re so dramatic. Come and make up your mind. You really have to see them.
Who are SOURCE’s tips from the bands playing across the other nights?
I guess that you might be able to tell by the people who have been in the magazine, especially those that have been on the cover. Country rock band Holy Vessels recorded our song of 2012 and they’re every bit as good live as on record. Abi Wade plays the cello like no one you’ve ever seen – totally original – while AKDK and Physics House Band are both intense and intelligent bursts of noise, the former electronic and the latter jazzy. Other that that I’m most looking forward to seeing hip hop outfit Rum Committee for the first time.
If you could have got any Brighton band, past or present, to play your night who would you have chosen?
Tough question – I’d very much like to see one more gig by Gloria Cycles, so they would be on the bill. Nick Cave, obviously. I saw Grinderman at the King Alfred Centre so know how powerful he can be when he’s right in front of your face. And I guess I’d like to see The Maccabees play all the early songs they won’t play any more – in a room full of over excited teenagers, like their infamous gig at the Concorde. Finally I’d like to see Bat For Lashes’ first live incarnation – the all girl band – again. She was a delight in those early days. And still is, of course. That’s not a bad line up in anyone’s books.
Sea Monsters seems to have replaced Brighton Live as the local music festival. Why do you think that is?
I think the problem with Brighton Live – which was a brilliant idea – is that by the end it only attracted bands who weren’t already getting lots of gigs elsewhere. I was part of the board for a while and I pushed for more curated nights, something we did at Sticky Mike’s over three days as a SOURCE-branded event. I don’t want to say the rest of it was full of BIMM bands but… it was full of BIMM bands. That’s not so bad bit it isn’t representative of the Brighton scene as a whole. Brighton Live needed to tempt bands to be involved that were way too big to play for free because it was good for the community. But that never really happened. Sea Monsters works better, I think, because the bands are asked to play and already it’s seen as a badge of honour to be chosen. Because it sells out all the bands get paid, which is good. It’s a shame Brighton Live fell from its former glory because there were a lot of good people involved with very good intentions.
Tonight Wildflowers headline Brighton Finest’s gig at the Hope, which comes with support from Nick Williams and The Victorian Hunter. Friday night is Trading Places night at the Green Door Store and this time around they’re focussing on Iggy Pop and the Stooges with a bill that features a host of DJs and bands headlined by Spit Shake Sisters.
Brighton Music Blog 