Reviews of gigs in Brighton, if you want to join us and review gigs, drop us a line.
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
Liturgy are a band that defy conventional categorisation. So much so, they’ve created their own genre – “pure transcendent black metal”.
This is no idle boast. Interviews with formidably titled frontman Hunter Hunt-Hendrix reveal an unusual amount of thought has gone into the band – he’s written a manifesto focusing on the positive side of chaos and even invented a new kind of drum style, the ‘burst beat’ (more like ‘systems in nature’, apparently).
Monday, April 4th, 2011
Words: Tom Garrard Photographs: Max Clark Having burst through into the indie consciousness with their 2008 LP, Alight of Night, the Brooklyn noise pop act have kept busy since by releasing singles through Slumberland Records (home to musical comrades The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and A Sunny Day In Glasgow) and are now [...]
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Where is everybody? It’s one hour before Baltimore’s finest psych-folk-prog rock combo Arbouretum are due to take the stage in Brighton, and the venue is practically deserted. Only two couples lurk at the back of the low ceilinged room, sat at tables with their drinks and looking more suited to an evening of stand-up comedy rather than the earnest odes to archetypal imagery and psychic wholeness [...]
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
Arbouretum’s new album The Gathering was to an extent inspired by The Red Book by Carl Jung, or more specifically, Jung’s pursuit of the inner images that led to the book’s writing. Dave Heumann, the singer, guitarist and main lyricist of Arbouretum, explores his fascination with the esoteric through dense, grungey songs that somehow bring [...]
Sunday, March 6th, 2011
Jamie Woon’s atmospheric, soulful pop led him to a place in the BBC’s influential Sound of 2011 poll, and this was reflected in a busy Audio on Tuesday night. Woon’s music shares more than a likeness to fellow finalist James Blake’s more radio friendly output, although Blake’s [....]
Friday, February 18th, 2011
The sheer aural power of Magnetic Man would intimidate many acts who were about to follow them on stage, but then Crystal Castles are in the same league when it comes to having an intensely noisy, distorted, cutting-edge live sound. Usually manic, Alice Glass was slightly inhibited by [.....]
Saturday, January 22nd, 2011
Ben Scott headed down to Komedia to see whether the BIMM class of 2011 are up to scratch.
BIMM’s conveyor belt of talent is in full swing again as shown by the sold out performance at Komedia last night. The wide variety of bands proved the old adage, that ‘you can never have too much of a good thing,’ to be true. The [....]
Saturday, January 15th, 2011
The music of Elliot Smith provides inspiration to many musicians in Brighton. So one autumnal evening last September, Mark Benton of Man Ray Sky and Seadog arranged a special tribute night to the man and his songs [....]
Saturday, February 21st, 2009
A review of 900 Spaces at The Prince Albert, 19th February 2009. “…All the core components of a good party band are here, from the synths and angelic voice of lead singer Emma Lou, to the style of bassist Joe-Leigh Branton who dances like Franz Ferdinand and the considered pickings of guitarist Adam House. They have a good forthcoming run of gigs and this should tighten the group dynamism further.”
Monday, February 16th, 2009
A review of Glissando, at the Brighton Freebutt, 2nd February 2009. “Elly May Irving sang, sat at the piano with her eyes closed and seemingly wrapped up in her own world. At the back of the stage Glissando’s other half Richard Knox plucked at a guitar, hidden in the shadows with his head bowed. The song, Floods, drew to a close with the whole band… singing the lines together, a haunting crescendo that rang around the half-empty Freebutt”