DITZ + KNIVES + STAFF PARTY – CHALK, BRIGHTON 4.4.25
We have been following hotly-tipped Brighton noise-rock band DITZ for quite some time now, and this evening it really does feel that after all their slogging and hard work, that they have finally made it. Yes they have previously played to a similar size crowd at a full capacity Concorde 2 before, but that was part of the Official Jordan Mooney Memorial Concert and there were 11 bands on the bill (Review HERE), whereas this evening at Chalk (courtesy of Lout promoters), they are the headlining act in their own right!
DITZ these days comprises Cal (vocals), Anton (guitar), Caleb (bass), Sam (drums) and Jack (guitar) and it’s this solid lineup that has made all the difference. They had a shuffle around a few years ago and moved Jack from drums to guitar (which much better suits his cool laid back demeanor) and brought in wonderboy Sam on drums and guitarist Archie left or was let go. It’s not just us that having been singing the praises of DITZ, but IDLES frontman Joe Talbot on more than one occasion has flagged up DITZ as Brighton’s best band and it came as no surprise that DITZ were then selected as tour support with IDLES right across Europe. To me, DITZ are really Brighton’s answer to Bristol’s IDLES, they make very good bedfellows when having a music session of coloured vinyl releases. And on that subject, the new DITZ album titled ‘Never Exhale’ (order HERE) was released on 24th January 2025 and there are two vinyl versions; a pink 180g vinyl and a ‘Dinked’ version in collaboration with a whole group of UK record shops. This version comes on marbled purple 180g vinyl with an exclusive design of DITZ socks and a ‘Never Exhale’ air freshener. There are also CD and Cassette versions too.
‘Never Exhale’ is the sound of a band that hasn’t stopped for a breath. DITZ have toured relentlessly since the release of their first album ‘The Great Regression’. The songs that form their newest offering were written across Europe, often on off days and in borrowed rehearsal rooms. It could be said that the band treat recording and release of music as an afterthought. Often playing songs live years before their release, tweaking them as they go. ‘Never Exhale’ was largely recorded at Holy Mountain studios in London during a freezing cold January. The process was fraught with obstacles, the original plan, to go and record in Rhode Island, was abandoned when DITZ were offered the aforementioned support tour with IDLES, although the album was still mixed by the originally intended engineer, Seth Manchester (Model/Actriz, Lingua Ignota, Big Brave). The result is an album hardened by the pressure of its own making. Laboured but not loved. ‘Never Exhale’ has its roots in the usual DITZ influences, classic noise rock such as The Jesus Lizard or Shellac, or the obtuse post punk of the Fall, but also brings in fresh influences. The closing track ‘Britney’, could be compared to Radiohead or Mogwai. Overall the album is a clear development from their first album and is a sign of more things to come.
In support of the album ,DITZ have been on a 9 date UK tour which kicked off in Glasgow on 25th March, and then they called in at Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield, Norwich, Manchester, Birmingham, London and are concluding tonight with a homecoming gig at Chalk in Pool Valley. Of all the times I have seen DITZ live in action, this is the longest set they have ever played, this being no less than 18 tracks across an 80 minute set running from 8:42pm until 10:02pm.
The lights are dimmed and there’s rumbling noises courtesy of a backing tape in order to build crowd excitement and anticipation. The band arrive with Cal bringing up the rear and at 8:45pm they are off with literally a handful of tracks from their latest album, these tunes being ‘V70’, ‘Taxi Man’, ‘Four’, ‘God On A Speed Dial’ and ‘Space/Smile’. The volume in the venue has been cranked up and the waves of air that are coming out of the speakers on the floor are beating against my trousers. Thank God I don’t own any flares as they would be flapping! Yep you guessed it, we are right at the very front. Behind us is a rather boisterous crowd who take every opportunity to bounce around, mosh, whizz around in circles as directed by Cal.
From the very start on ‘V70’ it’s clear that tonight they mean business and Cal clambers off of the stage within seconds and is standing on fans shoulders whilst trying to balance, by pushing down on my head and another fan’s and is successfully held aloft. On another occasion Cal’s arms make a parting motions as if directing the Red Sea and the crowd divides into two opposing sides and when given the nod all rush towards each other in a friendly batting manner. Cal makes a few visits into the crowd this evening and even climbs atop the nearby bar counter and sings from there, not before lightening their supply of the Brighton go to drink Tuaca, which when back on stage, indicated that hopefully payment for said item won’t be due. A portion of the ill gotten gains was distributed amongst some of us in the front row as well as some bandmates.
After another handful of tunes, namely ‘Clocks’, ‘Senor Siniestro’, ‘Smells Like Something Died In Here’ (which was a last minute addition), ‘hehe’ and ‘Teeth’, they ploughed ever forward and gave us their 2023 ‘Riverstone’ single as well as ‘Instinct’, ‘I Am Kate Moss’ and ‘The Body As A Structure’. All the time the DITZ sound is driven by Sam’s drumming, Caleb’s bass and Anton and Jack’s guitars. This show is that good it’s like watching IDLES in action! On one occasion Cal gets off the stage and crouches down amongst the punters and we are all encouraged to do so, where we stay for about a minute before popping back up again Jack-in-the-box style, it’s always a winner!
After a couple more from 2022’s ‘The Great Regression’ album (‘The Warden’ and ‘Ded Würst’), DITZ go and raise the bar further with 2018’s ‘Seeking Arrangement’ single, followed by their epic send-off ‘No Thanks, I’m Full’ which certainly was given the 12” extended version this evening with Sam vacating the drum riser and coming down to give the analog synth some good old tweaking, which makes the sound even louder. It’s only the second time this evening that the synth has been used, the first being by Caleb. I wonder if in future they could add some more in for their new numbers, I reckon that would be great! And how do they end this evening, with Cal’s customary trademark “Thank you very much, we’ve been DITZ from Brighton”. It’s been a terrific performance as bore witness by the ecstatic punters’ faces.
DITZ:
Cal Francis – vocals
Caleb Remnant – bass guitar, keys
Anton Mocock – guitars
Jack Looker – guitar, keys
Sam Evans – drums, Roland presets, keys
DITZ setlist:
‘V70’ (from 2025 ‘Never Exhale’ album)
‘Taxi Man’ (from 2025 ‘Never Exhale’ album)
‘Four’ (from 2025 ‘Never Exhale’ album)
‘God On A Speed Dial’ (from 2025 ‘Never Exhale’ album)
‘Space/Smile’ (from 2025 ‘Never Exhale’ album)
‘Clocks’ (from 2022 ‘The Great Regression’ album)
‘Senor Siniestro’ (from 2025 ‘Never Exhale’ album)
‘Smells Like Something Died In Here’ (from 2025 ‘Never Exhale’ album)
‘hehe’ (from 2022 ‘The Great Regression’ album)
‘Teeth’ (from 2022 ‘The Great Regression’ album)
‘Riverstone’ (a 2023 single)
‘Instinct’ (from 2022 ‘The Great Regression’ album)
‘I Am Kate Moss’ (from 2022 ‘The Great Regression’ album)
‘The Body As A Structure’ (from 2025 ‘Never Exhale’ album)
‘The Warden’ (from 2022 ‘The Great Regression’ album)
‘Ded Würst’ (from 2022 ‘The Great Regression’ album)
‘Seeking Arrangement’ (a 2018 single)
‘No Thanks, I’m Full’ (from 2022 ‘The Great Regression’ album)
The second band on the bill this evening are Bristol based KNIVES who comprise of Jay Schottlander (vocals), Josh Cook (guitar), Dan Farren (guitar), Ben Marshall (bass), Erin Cook (drums) and Izzi Allard (saxophone). In 2023 the sextet released their ‘Newshounds’ and ‘Leeches’ singles ahead of the 5-track ‘Newshounds’ EP, and their ‘Babooshka’ single completed the year’s releases. 2024 saw the band drop their ‘Doppelgänger’ single in February, followed by ‘Headcase’ in March and in May these two along with a trio of new cuts came out as ‘What We See In Their Eyes’ EP. This year so far they have released their ‘The Dagger’ single, followed by ‘PHD’. Their forthcoming debut album will be dropping on 2nd May and is titled ‘GLITTER’, you can pre-order your copy HERE.
We last caught up with KNIVES at a taster ‘Great Escape’ showcase event in London at The Old Blue Last on 20th March this year. There were several of these events happening in the capital city as a teaser of some of the acts that will be appearing in Brighton this May for ‘The Great Escape’ new music festival. Their listing on the festival’s website reads “Knives are a band that exists within chaos and, in a short time, have shown what is possible when you bottle it. From punishing bouts of hardcore fury to gritty flourishes of post-punk intensity, loose strands of quick-witted alt-rock to shimmering waves of free-flowing experimental jazz, the eventually assembled sextet proclaimed to leave no stone unturned, unafraid of leaping over boundaries in pursuit of covering previously uncharted ground”.
This evening at Chalk the gang performed for 29 minutes (7:55pm to 8:24pm) and during that time they successfully whizzed through no less than a dozen compositions, so they weren’t hanging about! They were all positioned in a line near the front of the stage and began with a quiet intro which really doesn’t last long as they jumped headfirst into the sub three minute ‘Happiness’ which can be found on their ‘What We See In Their Eyes’ EP. Immediately you can tell they are an eye-catchingly lively bunch, with many jumps and kicks going on, especially from bassist Ben. Their 2025 ‘The Dagger’ single is next and followed by the sub two minute ‘Newshounds’. Frontman Jay’s vocals it seems can operate on many levels which is impressive, including talky style rapping and quiet talking parts just like Cal of DITZ. Ben’s almost trademark rumbley bass guitar sounds and metronomic drumming from Erin seem to dictate the band’s nouveau punk sounds.
Sadly, it seems that the band’s lighting isn’t the best for the excited photographers hoping to grab the kicking and jumping shots from four of the band; clearly drummer Erin can’t do this and one of the guitarists simply opts to perform side on facing Erin without barely moving. The beats are more regular as in a punk sound than tonight’s opening act, although KNIVES aren’t stuck solidly in true punk, as they also offer up grunge and rap sounds as well. The tracks were coming at as at such a rate of knots that I was beginning to lose track of which song we were listening to, but one offered up the earworm chorus that sounded like “I’m an arrogant f*ck”. Highlight of the set was probably being baptised or was it knighted on both shoulders by Ben’s bass guitar! These are a thoroughly entertaining act, and I’ve added them to my “must-see” list for this year’s ‘The Great Escape’.
KNIVES:
Jay Schottlander – vocals
Josh Cook – guitar
Dan Farren – guitar, backing vocals
Ben Marshall – bass, backing vocals
Erin Cook – drums
Izzi Allard – saxophone, backing vocals
KNIVES setlist:
‘Happiness’ (from 2024 ‘What We See In Their Eyes’ EP)
‘The Dagger’ (a 2025 single & from forthcoming 2025 ‘Glitter’ album)
‘Ninety-Eight’ (from 2023 ‘Newshounds’ EP)
‘Sadness’ (from 2024 ‘What We See In Their Eyes’ EP)
‘You Think You Know’ (from forthcoming 2025 ‘Glitter’ album)
‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ (from forthcoming 2025 ‘Glitter’ album)
‘PHD’ (a 2025 single & from forthcoming 2025 ‘Glitter’ album)
‘Headcase’ (from 2024 ‘What We See In Their Eyes’ EP)
‘Newshounds’ (from 2023 ‘Newshounds’ EP)
‘I Hope You Get It’ (from forthcoming 2025 ‘Glitter’ album)
‘Doppelgänger’ (from 2024 ‘What We See In Their Eyes’ EP)
‘Eat Thy Neighbour’ (from forthcoming 2025 ‘Glitter’ album)
Openers for this evening are Brighton based Noise Rock / Post-Hardcore trio Staff Party which comprise of Ed Lamb (lead vocals, guitar), Chazz Welfare (bass, backing vocals) and Jack Taylor (drums). They formed the band back in 2020 and began releasing their material post Covid. First up was their ‘The End Is Nigh’ three track EP on 5th October 2022, after which they dropped their three track ‘Dread’ EP on 25th April 2023, and the latest release is their ‘In Every Pore’ single which was released on 27th September last year. Surprisingly we only heard one of the released tunes during tonight’s 24 minute set (which ran from 7:15pm to 7:39pm) with the remaining handful of songs yet to be released.
Staff Party have been described as finely calibrated, frenetic, and loud as hell Noise Rock. They seek inspiration from Shellac, Melvins, The Jesus Lizard, At The Drive-In, and Unsane, as well as The Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., Stone Temple Pilots and Failure. It’s fair to say that they sprinkle a dose of Hardcore and Metal in for good measure and they’re rather loud.
When I last caught the lads playing live back in January for the annual Love Thy Neighbour Triptych three dayer event, Ed’s vocals were down in the mix and being drowned out by Jack’s drums and Chazz’s meaty bass, and it’s sadly the same tonight. The guys took to the stage and launched into a tune called ‘Biscuit’ and literally within five seconds, they had to halt proceedings as Jack broke a drumstick. Replacement retrieved and they were away again. We are positioned at the very front and I can assure you that Staff Party are loud and in your face. There’s no idle banter with this lot, they simply get on with it and play their material, and play they very much can! An example of this being during track two, ‘Steam’ from their ‘The End Is Nigh’ EP, in which Ed used his guitar’s feedback as actual notes as part of the song. He certainly has the kit to do this as there’s some serious pedal board action on offer, namely a powerful Helix LT Multi Effects Processor. It was fascinating watching him tapping the different coloured (light orange, yellow, sky blue, purple, dark blue, green and dark orange) buttons in order to get the different sounds.
Despite being down in the mix, Ed still endeavours to scream and shout his lyrics out at us, meanwhile during tune three ‘10,000 Stones’, Chazz is not going to be left behind here and he is playing his Fender bass guitar almost as if it is talking to us, and as we know Jack is bashing the hell of of his drumkit. Mind you, having said that, there are actually some quieter moments in between their metal grunge onslaught. One instance being when Ed was playing the chords of his G&L ASAT guitar via having both hands further up the neck of the instrument, which we don’t see very often. Overall, yet again, it’s been an intense Staff Party ear-splitting performance, which even features some folk around me offering up “whoops” of joy as approval to the Staff Party musicianship. The team that select the acts for the ‘Download Festival’ would certainly do no wrong in booking this trio to play.
Staff Party:
Ed Lamb – lead vocals, guitar
Chazz Welfare – bass, backing vocals
Jack Taylor – drums
Staff Party setlist:
‘Biscuit’ (unreleased)
‘Steam’ (from 2022 ‘The End Is Nigh’ EP)
‘10,000 Stones’ (unreleased)
‘Big Loooong’ (unreleased)
‘Crashing Out’ (unreleased)
‘Wasteland’ (unreleased)
