If the weather puts you off taking a punt on a local band’s gig, perhaps staying in to listen to their new record is the next best thing. This month’s round-up of new Brighton music includes singles from Flip Top Head, Plantoid, Emma Gatrill, En Heat, Hutch and The Leaning, alongside EPs from Flip Da Skrypt & Chai J, Trip Westerns, ELLiS•D and Yumi And The Weather (pictured). We’ve also got reviews of full albums by Adam Kidd, The Self Help Group, Soft Walls and JOHN.
SINGLES
Flip Top Head
‘Alfred Street’
Flip Top Head’s follow-up to their debut single is a compelling and dense oddity that starts with two weird chords, an insistently busy bassline and some cryptic repeated phrases. At the halfway point it relaxes into a woozy breakdown where a different vocalist takes over to muse on the misremembered name of an unassuming Brighton road with phrases like “we’re all equivalent to the gulls of the night”. The drama peaks as the song builds, and then we’re back into a pleasingly thrashy reprise of the main hook. The band describe their music as ‘orchestral cult rock’, but that misses the funky and mathsy elements of their complex sound. It’s more like Talking Heads finally deciding to let rip. Catch them at Mutations Festival this weekend. (BB)
Plantoid
‘Pressure’
Math rock collides with 70s psych in the new single from Plantoid, a band that clearly knows how to shape their odd influences into something new. Yes, there are some enjoyable Cardiacs-style power choruses, and a drum break worthy of John Bonham, but the song remains a surprising listen, even by the fourth replay. Representing the heavier side of the band’s repertoire, ‘Pressure’ takes the angular riffs and jazzy timing one step further – which is presumably why it’s become a live favourite. Plus, it features the most unusual yet purposeful guitar solo we’ve heard in a long time. The single is taken from the band’s forthcoming debut album, due to be released on Bella Union in February. (BB)
Emma Gatrill
‘Seed’
Ahead of her new album ‘Come Swim’, this seasoned folk multi-instrumentalist has released a second single to dip our toes into. Following the expansively symphonic track ‘Adonis Blue’, this second single ebbs, flows and soars with harmonies. Electronic buzz hums, layers of plucked strings, flugelhorn, recorders and even… wait for it… an ocarina, construct a community groove: an infectious beat of unity with her guesting musician pals. Emma Gatrill’s striking aerial vocals elevate the glorious positivity of ‘Seed’ and we can almost see a new dawn break as she sings “Out of the dark, into the light, into the light of the morning”. Bring on the album, the temperature is perfect. (AJ)
En Heat
‘Fancy Ape’
“Woo-hoo” indeed! It’s been a long lunch break since their debut single ‘There’s A Colonel In My Kitchen’ launched this Brighton-based band featuring antifolk frontman Filthy Pedro. For their second course, En Heat have psychedelically rocked up with an anarchic burst of wacky, unhinged breakneck fun: a musical invitation to throw all the toys out of the pram and just party. The video is as pacey as the spoken narrative. Manic monster mash-up riffs and a singalong hook slingslots us through a web of life’s disappointments: futility transforming into liberation. Catch all their reckless fun live on Nov 17th at the Hope & Ruin and Dec 14th at the Pipeline. (AJ)
Hutch
‘The Bow’
Twang/jangle/soft-rock/psych in any combination seems to be the vocab when people banter about Hutch’s tunes but none of those catch-alls nail their singular sound. This is a band whose music is honed through forever gigging since their 2021 debut, selling out the local haunts and snapping up support slots for the likes of Os Mutantes, Personal Trainer and Surprise Chef. In between, Hutch still make time for recording with a fine flow of super fresh and freaky guitar pop songs shining through the streaming fog. From the paisley-shirted psychedelia of ‘Radiator Centre’ to the preppy soul of ‘Potted Plants’ and the tingling soft rock of ‘Mechanical Bull’, their quirky lens, chiming harmonies and fine guitar playing is waiting to be loved. Ditto new single ‘The Bow’ with its tumbling chords, itchy indie disco shuffle and irrepressible hook – this is music crying out for a field or floor to bounce around. As cool as The Bats and as spiky as The Clean, Hutch won’t be a secret pleasure for long. (JP)
The Leaning
‘As The Ladies Dance’
Long a live favourite, now recorded with excellent production by James Day, The Leaning’s new single starts with a dreamy electronic drumbeat before the snaky groove of the bassline gets under your skin in quite a sexy fashion. As ever, Sam’s lyrics combine evocative imagery of natural beauty of cinematic scale with themes of love, and his vocal delivery in this song achieves full Springsteen by the end. Despite its length the the song holds your interest with its glacial 80s synth sounds and Ez’s understated guitar playing which sits quietly beneath the song, giving it depth and structure. If there is any justice in the world ‘As The Ladies Dance’ will become a karaoke classic and the slow smoocher that will close a million school discos and lead to some awkward first kisses. (NM)
EPS
Flip Da Skrypt & Chai J
‘Retro-Spect’
The ‘Retro-Spect’ EP is such a self-assured and timeless recording that if pushed to guess their identity you might wonder if it was a new project involving someone like Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse), Sault or perhaps even David Holmes. You wouldn’t guess it was a bunch of eighteen-year-olds fresh out of college – not Compton – and just home from a post A-Level summer of inter-railing across Europe. This is only Flip Da Skrypt collective’s second release following on from their equally excellent eponymous debut single. This one focuses on the production work of Chai J, without the UK Wu-Tang style hip hop of the wider group. The opening track ‘Blind’ adds some string samples and a cry of “I must have been blind” to create a haunting trip hop blues. ‘Rewind’ links a rolling guitar part to a driving hip hop rhythm with muted jazz horns and a helium balloon vocal that is so distorted no word can be made out, yet somehow you still want to sing along. With work of this quality it can only be a matter of time before this young collective are getting some serious attention. (NM)
Trip Westerns
‘Trip Westerns’
Beneath the cowboy shtick that is at risk of trapping Trip Westerns in a novelty box, lies some classic songwriting: one imagines that records by The Band, Dick Dale and The Electric Prunes can be found close to the turntables of the band members’ Brighton homes. The EP starts with ‘I Blame Charlie’, before its satisfying country soul opening suddenly explodes in a killer telecaster-driven surf guitar and drumming frenzy. The opening chords of ‘Dead Of Night’ echo ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ before the song sidesteps into a country pop number ala The Monkees’ ‘Stepping Stone’. ‘Howl’ slows things down to a Lee Hazelwood pace before the instrumental surf of ‘Switchblade Boogie’ offers a short but sweet bit of fun. The EP then closes with ‘Wicked Knife’ which is an excellent murder ballad with a dark tale of guilt driving the protagonist mad. (NM)
ELLiS•D
‘Hullo, Reality!’
For his second appearance in this Locally Sourced round-up, Trip Westerns drummer Ellis Dickson is back with another, almost album-length EP of his own material. What is immediately apparent is the quality of the recording this time around. His debut was let down by sounding like a demo at times, rather than a proper release. No such concerns here. The production fully supports the quality of the songs. ‘Straightjacket Blues’ could be a lost recording from the peak of Talking Heads: all tight funky guitar with Ellis’ vocals really capturing that Byrne howl. ‘Getting On’, meanwhile, is led by a more falsetto vocal and tight drumming that recalls Radiohead. That you can be forming your own voice while earning deserved comparisons to some of the greatest art rock bands ever is no mean feat. After the yearning late-night dance of ‘I Am Here’ something incredible suddenly explodes from the speakers. ‘Degenerate Effeminate’ is a slow-burning monster with nasty guitars and a bassline made for strutting. The seven-track EP comes to a dreamy close with ‘Siren’. It’s a simpler song than some of the others, and is all the more enjoyable for it, as the song’s key elements have room to breathe and get under your skin. (NM)
Yumi And The Weather
‘Feed The Wanting’
Wow, has it really been ten years since Ruby Taylor and chums first grabbed attention with the infectious dreamwavey synthpop EP ‘All We Can’? Since then, there’s been the steady clamour of support from Radio 6 royalty (Laverne, Garvey, Letts, Ravenscroft, etc), a growing demand for their live shows on the indie circuit and festival roller coaster (think Manchester Psych Fest, Green Man), plus a catalogue of fine releases on their own imprint MIOHMI Records. The debut self-titled Yumi And The Weather album arrived in 2018 and last year came the follow-up ‘It’s All In My Head’, which saw scuzzy, psych-rock energy bubbling through the impressive sweep of Taylor’s songs. Now comes the ‘Feed The Wanting’ EP, a four-tune collection that finds her band pushing on further. The title track may bounce to a 90s indie dance drive, keys and punchy hook but Yumi And The Weather are just getting started. The alt-rock power-punk connector ‘No Time To Waste’ dials up the riffing guitar for Taylor’s vocal to go necessarily slacker while ‘Lead Me Through Hell’ sets deep break-up emotions in a swirl of goth synths, cow punk and Morricone guitars. Even quirkier, ‘Hard To Compare’ winds up the record in twinkling 60s style, a bit doo-wop, a bit soul, a bit Mari Wilson meets The Shirelles… and it works. (JP)
ALBUMS
Adam Kidd
‘Seven Years Of Bad Luck’
Adam Kidd usually plays with his band Fragile Creatures who are busy releasing some great new material (check out their recent single ‘Raised By Fools’ for a good example of their music). However, Adam also took the opportunity of a recent birthday to let loose a collection of solo material that has been seven years in the making, and it is excellent. Apparently the year these songs were composed wasn’t a great one for Adam, which might have alienated him from the songs that poured out of him at the time – peppered as they are with a lot of relationship turmoil and mental stress (check the title of one of our favourites: ‘Cemetery Smile’). However, seven years on this 11-track collection sounds pretty great. More indie-rock than singer-songwriter, not unlike his main band’s work, ‘Seven Years Of Bad Luck’ is well-crafted, poignant and very hummable. You’re going to become very fond of this album. (JS)
The Self Help Group
‘Dream Of A Ghost’
The third album from Sussex-based folk-rock band The Self Help Group is going to sound warmly familiar to their fans, cutting a beautiful furrow situated somewhere between early 70s Laurel Canyon and the cool English countryside, with a touch of Fleetwood Mac from the superb male-female vocal interplay of Mark Bruce and the Wood sisters. Lead Selfie Bruce’s songwriting continues to be superb, taking snippets of stories and turning them into delightful pop cameos, very much in his own unique style. If you know the Self Help Group you will already have acquired ‘Dream Of A Ghost’ but if you don’t you should definitely check them out. (JS)
Soft Walls
‘True Love’
The second we hit play on ‘True Love’ our ears find refuge in a range of classic indie sounds that provide the aural equivalent of slipping on pyjamas after a hard day and pouring a decent measure of a Speyside Malt. The propulsive rhythm of ‘A Whisper In Your Ear’ pulls you in with its strident guitar and reverb-drenched vocals which sit somewhere between John Lennon and Sufjan Stevens. The minor key lo-fi jangly dream-pop of ‘It’s Not Complicated’ provides a satisfying reason to smile, just like the flavours of the whisky lingering in your mouth. Soft Walls is the solo recording project of Dan Reeves who was part of Cold Pumas and ran the sadly missed Faux Discs label (who released a smorgasbord of excellent records by Irma Vep, Hookworms and Sauna Youth amongst others). This pedigree does much to explain the quality and styles on offer here, from the synth harmonies of ‘True Love’ to the wonky pop of ‘Waking’. (NM)
JOHN
‘A Life Diagrammatic’
Opening track, ‘At Peacehaven’, erupts onto our speakers in a punk fury that would make a certain boy band from Bristol proud. The influence of Idles resonates across the album, and JOHN have always been held in high regard by the AF-Gang regulars. An obvious example of this kinship is the thunderous clanging guitar part of ‘Côte D’Adur’, over which John shout-sings a strange poetic tale of a bike ride on the banks of the river Adur. The female choral harmonies on ‘Service Stationed’ provide a welcome change to the palette and contribute to that song being a high point of the album. Similarly, the rousing chorus of “Set in stone!” on ‘Trauma Mosaic’ make it one of the most memorable and enjoyable songs. Perhaps it also stands out because here the influence is more strongly Fugazi. In any case, it is hard to believe that JOHN comprises only two guys called John: singing drummer John Newton and guitarist John Healey. However, according to the credits, the legendary bassist Barry Adamson crops up on backing vocals on the excellent lead single ‘Riddley Scott Walker’, although it is hard to pinpoint with any certainty exactly which element of the vocal is Barry. Perhaps they could run a ‘Spot the Barry’ competition? Their headline show at Concorde 2 next year will provide an excellent opportunity to hear these songs in their natural live environment. (NM)
Words by Anita Joyce, Ben Bailey, John Parry, Jon Southcoasting and Nick McAllister
Photo by Iosu Vaquerizo
