Another month, another Brighton Source New Music night. Well, there’s actually two this month but that’s another story. This time we had local gig-makers Wildwood Promotions curating a night on the big stage headlined by the massive Interlocutor and various friends.

Herb Denton’s Last Dime are prospective headliners themselves but opened this night with a great set of their big-band Americana. An album is forthcoming and should be a fine addition to the growing clan of rootsy product from local bands.

Octopuses provided a joyful set in their usual shambolic indie-pop manner, including the requisite inflatable sea-creature for the bobbing around amongst their audience. Lead Octopus Adam Bell’s keyboard died after the first song so he had to revert to the headliner’s giant-sized one, but that didn’t appear to cramp the band’s style. New single ‘Sarcastic’ is already a singalong favourite with their rapidly-growing fan base.

Red River Dialect unfortunately had a bad night, not aided by some weak sound at the start. Normally a six-piece, the trio format didn’t really fit the format of the night and Dave Morris and team’s soul-infused psych-folk songs would have been better suited to a smaller room. A shame, as their album ‘awellupontheway’ was one of our favourites from last year and well worth checking out.

Interlocutor on the other hand rocked the stage. The 12-piece rock ‘n’ soul orchestra led by Electric Soft Parade’s Alex White, Interlocutor come across a lot like Lambchop and after a slow start via a Steely Dan cover they then let rip with a brilliant collection of songs, which bode well for their forthcoming album. Particular favourites include ‘Never Mind’, ‘Saturday’, ‘On Your Own’ and the night-ender ‘Roles Reversed’.

Dome Studio, Saturday 7th September 2013
Words and photos by Jon Southcoasting