CIEL made a welcome return to Brighton tonight at the penultimate gig of a headline tour of France and the UK that’s seen the band promoting their rather excellent and recently released ‘Rather Be Alone’ EP.

Support for tonight’s gig came from two local Brighton bands. First up were Clean Shirt, a five-piece emo grunge band who went down well with the packed crowd. The vocals on some of the songs were somewhat drowned out by the two guitarists, which slightly impaired our enjoyment, but they seem like a band with a lot of potential.

Next on stage were Belmondo who are comprised of band members from France, Switzerland and the UK. They had a goth rock sound with a harder edge to their music; the standout song ‘Bethlehem’ is a recent single and a great rock anthem. The band are about to head out with Ohio rockers Filter on their upcoming UK tour.

Headliners CIEL came out onto the Hope & Ruin stage a little later than advertised, and we note that the line-up has changed. Michelle Hindriks and Tim Spencer are joined by newest band member Ruby Taylor on guitar – replacing Jorge Bella Jimenez, who recently left the band. All credit to Ruby as she seamlessly fits into the band. If you didn’t know you might think she had been part of CIEL for years.

SOURCE are huge admirers of the band, having seen them live on several occasions, both as headliners and as support for a multitude of other bands in Brighton. They certainly didn’t disappoint as they raced through their 14-song alternative dream pop set. They did, however, take a break mid-set to draw a raffle… we were each given a ticket upon entry and a couple of lucky punters won a CIEL tote bag and signed vinyl LP, which was a nice touch by the band.

Michelle also said how much they have enjoyed playing the Hope & Ruin over the last few years, their venue spiritual home so to speak. She also used to pull pints behind the bar on many occasions before the band took off.

CIEL are at their best on their more chorus-driven poppier sounding songs. ‘Baby Don’t You Know’ and the final song of the night, ‘Fine Everything’, got the packed crowd singing along. But the gig was over way too quickly: with no encore, the trio left the stage. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait long for another headline show in the band’s adopted hometown.

Hope & Ruin, Wednesday 21st February 2024
Word by Richard Warran
Photos by Rob Trendy