SWIM DEEP + CURRLS + PROJECTOR – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 15.5.24
Tonight witnessed the second SON Estrella Galicia micro-festival at The Prince Albert in Brighton. This special event featured an evening of Live Music, Beer Culture and Food with headline performances coming from Swim Deep, Currls and PROJECTOR.
Since 2009, SON Estrella Galicia have been creating events that offer a twist on the traditional concert experience in as far away places such as Spain, Brazil, Portugal and the US. They have since become well established in the London scene with 4 events within the past 2 years at Paper Dress Vintage in Hackney, which included high profile performances and attendees including Los Bitchos, Teleman, Dream Wife, Prima Queen, DEADLETTER and more.
Back in March, SON Estrella Galicia expanded their series in the UK and stepped out of the capital for the first time and headed to Brighton for a sold-out micro-festival featuring acclaimed performances from Panic Shack and Plantoid – Review HERE.
This time around there were DJ sets on the ground floor from Marcus Harris (White Heat), Ryan Scott Löehmann and Las Titis. But we were here for the bands, thus we ventured upstairs to see what the trio of acts had to offer.
First up were Brighton’s very own shoegaze/alternative rock band PROJECTOR who originally formed in 2015 as a four piece but became much more active in 2017 when they changed to a trio of Lucy Sheehan (vocals and bass), Edward Ensbury (vocals and guitar) and Demelza Mather (drums), but Demelza left in late 2019 and was replaced by Cal Marinho.
Projector kicked off the event and delved into their sonic breadth and experimental attitude to pop, which encompassed elements of industrial drum machines to hook laden alt-rock, the band also dive into post-punk territory via luscious melodies, all of which has gained attention from BBC 6 Music champions Steve Lamacq and Amy Lame. Their set opened at 8:31pm with ‘Non’ (which I think maybe an unreleased tune). We were in their company for the next 41 minutes and were rewarded with no less than 13 tunes.
I have to say that I was rather impressed with the punters as the venue was almost at full capacity as they performed ‘Non’, and it’s evident that they have a loyal band of fans that are really into them and off the back of tonight’s set I can see exactly why! Lucy is welding her Fender Mustang, and Edward his Fender Jaguar, Cal is activating the Roland presets and drums, plus there’s also a second Fender guitar on the go plus a Keylab 49 keys MK II and shaker, plus there’s a MacBook Pro laptop at the side as well.
Tonight is very much about their new album, titled ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ of which we receive no less than 10 of its 11 cuts. Inside this platter you can hear their inspirations such as Sonic Youth and Joy Division and this is so tonight during their performance. I even noted a slight Oasis similarity thrown in there too. Lucy’s rapping vocal midset was good and I gravitate towards their more punky sounding tunes and so their final three numbers (‘Breeding Ground’, ‘Tastes Like Sarah’ and ‘Zero.’) are all of particular interest to me. There’s an urgency with these and local heroes DITZ spring to mind. It had been a decent toe tapping set replete with catchy choruses and often jaunty hook laden tunes. Tonight they seem a tighter unit from when I first saw them way back, so clearly a unit heading in the right direction. FFO Taking Heads and Gang Of 4 et al.
Projector:
Lucy Sheehan – bass, vocals
Edward Ensbury – guitar, vocals
Cal Marinho – drums
Projector setlist:
‘Non’ (Unreleased?)
‘And Now The End’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Sunshine’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Play Along’ (unreleased?)
‘Dubious Goals Committee’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Chemical’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘No Guilt’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Necessary’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Big Idea’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Breeding Ground’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Tastes Like Sarah’ (from 2024 ‘Now When We Talk It’s Violence’ album)
‘Zero.’ (a 2021 single)
Next up were Brighton indie garage rock trio Currls who formed back in 2017 and were crowned winners of Record Store Day Unsigned Competition back in November and consist of Holly Deanna (vocals and guitar), Hannah Websdale (drums) and Jack Smith (bass), who have steadily been making a name for themselves over the past few years. Their compelling mix of raw garage rock, hard-hitting and fast-paced punk energy has landed them plays on BBC Radio 1 and BBC6Music.
This evening we were given a 39 minute set consisting of 10 tunes, which began at 9:30pm and concluded at 10:09pm. Holly is on lead vocals and Epiphone guitar, Hannah on the drums and occasional backing vocals, and Jack is on Fender Precision bass and backing vocals. At the beginning of their set there are considerably less punters than at the end of the PROJECTOR set which is a shame, but many do make a re-appearance from downstairs whilst Currls are doing their thing.
You immediately get a sense that Holly has powerful vocals, even from the opening line…“I know a girl…”. Their sound is also powerful and as ‘Honey’ and latest single ‘Let’s Talk About The Weather’ pass us by we arrive at the ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ sounding ‘Nerve’, which Holly informs us was written about someone who gets on her nerves. The trio continued to rock on out for the duration of their set, and performed tunes from their new EP (their second), including ‘Throwback’ and ‘Blame’. It’s titled ‘Let’s Talk About The Weather’ and dropped on 12th April. After these we had ‘Family Man’ which Holly informs us was penned about the Police and their treatment of Sarah Everard (RIP), and that this tune was for Radio6 dads. It’s their most punk fuelled number and in my opinion their best composition to date. Having got the punters into pogo-bopping mode, they then slowed it right down with ‘Transmission’, which isn’t a Joy Division cover, but actually a song written about them. They signed off their set with 2019 single ‘Let Down’, followed by 2018 single ‘April Fool’.
Currls:
Holly Deanna – vocals and guitar
Hannah Websdale – drums
Jack Smith – bass
Currls setlist:
‘Honey’ (from 2022 ‘Hello, My Name Is’ EP)
‘Weather’ (from 2024 ‘Let’s Talk About The Weather’ EP)
‘Nerve’ (from 2022 ‘Hello, My Name Is’ EP)
‘Cruel’ (from 2024 ‘Let’s Talk About The Weather’ EP)
‘Throwback’ (from 2024 ‘Let’s Talk About The Weather’ EP)
‘Blame’ (from 2024 ‘Let’s Talk About The Weather’ EP)
‘Family Man’ (from 2022 ‘Hello, My Name Is’ EP)
‘Transmission’ (from 2022 ‘Hello, My Name Is’ EP)
‘Let Down’ (a 2019 single)
‘April Fool’ (a 2018 single)
It was now finally time for the arrival of this evening’s headliners Swim Deep who formed in Birmingham back in 2011 and their current lineup features Austin Williams (vocals), Cavan McCarthy (bass), James Balmont (keyboards), Robbie Wood (guitar), and Thomas Fiquet (drums). Thus far they have released a trio of albums, ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ (2013), ‘Mothers’ (2015) and ‘Emerald Classics’ (2019) and are getting ready to drop their fourth installment ‘There’s A Big Star Outside’ which will hit the world on 7th June 2024. This will witness Swim Deep tapping into their love of gauzy shoegaze and gentle swaying melodies, and signals the band’s post Covid rebirth.
This evening we are treated to a 51 minute set which ran from 10:33pm until 11:24pm and consisted of 11 numbers, with a half dozen of these to be found on the forthcoming release including their current single ‘How Many Love Songs Have Died In Vegas?’.
The format tonight witnessed Austin on lead vocals, Epiphone guitar, tambourine and keys on the final number. Cavan was on Fender bass and keys; Thomas was on drums and backing vocals; James was taking care of two sets of keys with one being a Casio, as well as tambourine, lemon shaker, backing vocals and there’s a laptop nearby; and completing the lineup is Robbie on Burns guitar and occasional backing vocals.
The room was busy at the start of their set, but that’s to be expected as this evening has sold out. Logically they kick off with ‘First Song’ (from the forthcoming ‘There’s A Big Star Outside’ album) which has a hint of the Stone Roses electronic vibe to me. This is followed by the New Order-esque ‘King City’ (from 2013 ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ album), and then ‘Namaste’ (from 2015 ‘Mothers’ album), which the backbeat strangely reminded me of the Style Council. Austin then informed us that they have been writing some new material and that the next number ‘So Long, So Far (Marble-Bellied Baby)’ was now going to be given its live debut. It’s a rather melodic tune, as is ‘Honey’ (from 2013 ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ album), which again has the vibe of latter New Order releases. ‘Very Heaven’, also from the forthcoming platter, has a welcoming nostalgic keys intro beat and sees the Burns guitar traded in for an acoustic one. The quieter, more reflective newbie ‘Don’t Make Me A Stranger’ is their next choice. ‘She Changes The Weather’ (from 2013 ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ album), is given an outing next and begins with a decent repetitive keyboard riff from James and then his four bandmates join in. This is one of the set highlights for me and musically was a mashup of M83 meets Embrace…now there’s a new combination! After the bouncy newbie ‘Glitter’ we had arrived at their (by far) best tune of the night, this being ‘Fueiho Boogie’ (from 2015 ‘Mothers’ album), which saw Cavan let loose on the mini keys whilst Thomas kicked into motorik drumming mode, and the other guys rocked out! This was an epic number and it’s a shame that not all of the material sounds this good. Having whipped up the crowd they ended with the new ‘How Many Love Songs Have Died In Vegas?’ single, which was similar to the material before ‘Fueiho Boogie’ in that this too has a nostalgic feeling, one which I get from listening to The Magnetic North’s albums. I would have definitely swapped the running order of those two tunes and gone out on a high.
Swim Deep:
Austin Williams – vocals, guitar, sitar, keyboards, synthesizer, organ, piano, xylophone, percussion (2010–present)
Cavan McCarthy – bass guitar, keyboard, synthesizer, backing vocals (2012–present)
James Balmont – keyboards, synthesizer, keytar, piano, percussion, backing vocals (touring member 2013-2014, full member 2014–present)
Robbie Wood – guitar, keyboard, backing vocals (2018–present)
Thomas “Tomaski” Fiquet – drums, backing vocals (2018–present)
Swim Deep setlist:
‘First Song’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘There’s A Big Star Outside’ album)
‘King City’ (from 2013 ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ album)
‘Namaste’ (from 2015 ‘Mothers’ album)
‘So Long, So Far (Marble-Bellied Baby)’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘There’s A Big Star Outside’ album)
‘Honey’ (from 2013 ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ album)
‘Very Heaven’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘There’s A Big Star Outside’ album)
‘Don’t Make Me A Stranger’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘There’s A Big Star Outside’ album)
‘She Changes The Weather’ (from 2013 ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ album)
‘Glitter’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘There’s A Big Star Outside’ album)
‘Fueiho Boogie’ (from 2015 ‘Mothers’ album)
‘How Many Love Songs Have Died In Vegas?’ (a 2024 single from 2024 forthcoming ‘There’s A Big Star Outside’ album)
